An unusual story comes from Kostajnica. One third of the stadium of FC Partizan from Kostajnica belong to Croatia and the rest belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is why players sometimes need passport when they go get the ball.
During the match on the field of FC Partizan in Kostajnica, players cross the border with Croatia several hundred times. Even crazier is the fact that when the ball ends up in the nearby woods, the one who goes get it must have a passport to bring the ball back. The border between BiH and Croatia goes straight across the football field. Benches for backup players are also in Croatia, so it could be said that they are watching the match from the European Union!
“We came into this situation after the disintegration of Yugoslavia. When the ball ends up somewhere north of the out line, the one who goes get it has passport by his side, just in case. Croatian border policemen have not yet asked for the passport, but they did request passports from some people who cultivate land nearby,” said the president of the football club Zoran Avramović.
When asked whether both football players and referees must have passports in their shorts because they constantly cross the border on the field, Avramović responded: “They don’t. Prior to the disintegration we competed in the Zagreb regional league with clubs such as Slaven Belupo, and now we are in the Banja Luka regional league. We have good relations with Croatians, many football players from Croatia played for our club and they still come occasionally to watch games.”
(Source: klix.ba)
