Former Assistants of Srečko Katanec Claim €350,000 from Uzbekistan Football Association

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Three former assistants to Uzbekistan national team head coach Srečko Katanec are seeking to recover €350,000 from the Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA).

According to sources, the Slovenian specialists have submitted their claim to FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, arguing that the UFA owes them the stated amount.

Their contracts were originally valid until summer 2026 but were terminated following the appointment of a new coaching staff under Fabio Cannavaro.

The former assistants were offered positions with youth national teams but declined, emphasizing that their agreements were exclusively for the preparation of the senior national team for the World Cup.

In response, the UFA stated that the assistants’ contracts were automatically terminated according to a clause in their agreements: “In the event of termination of the head coach’s contract, agreements with his assistants are simultaneously nullified.”

The association stressed that the mutual termination of the head coach’s contract and the arrival of a new coaching staff effectively ended the agreements with the previous team.

UFA noted that including such a clause is standard practice under FIFA jurisprudence and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). While the former staff members were indeed offered roles with other youth squads, they refused these positions.

Katanec’s coaching team consisted of five Slovenian specialists: assistants Aleš Čeh and Vlado Radmanović, fitness coach Martin Magister, goalkeeping coach Nihad Pejkovic, and physiotherapist Ian Katanec.

Srečko Katanec led Uzbekistan from August 2021 until January 2025, stepping down for health reasons. Subsequently, Timur Kapadze took over and, alongside part of Katanec’s staff, led Uzbekistan to its first-ever World Cup.

On 6 October, 52-year-old Italian Fabio Cannavaro was appointed head coach of the national team.