Aco Petrovic on Leaving the Stage in 1995.
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On July 2, 1995, the Croatians made one of the most shameful moves in the history of basketball. Yugoslavia became the European champion in Athens by defeating Lithuania 96-90, while the Croatians, who had secured the bronze by winning against Greece, left the winner’s podium after their medals were awarded.
They refused to listen to the Yugoslav anthem or acknowledge the success of the “blue” basketball players. Since then, they have been haunted by this scandal, as they have not won any medals since then.
The then coach of Croatia, Aco Petrović, revealed that the decision to step down from the podium was of a political nature. “I remember our leaving the podium… And if you ask me if it was a mistake – yes, but if you look at it from the perspective of 2024.
However, if we go back to 1995, we all know what the situation was like… The fact is that some sort of telephone bridge was established between the hall in Athens and Zagreb.
The fact is that some sort of signal came to leave the podium, and that’s what happened. But I think it was a big mistake that was made,” Petrović stated in an interview for N1.
