Ski retirement is causing a stir in Austria

Slaves who? Very few ski fans are likely to be familiar with Dujakovic. The Austrian with Bosnian-Serbian roots was a talent for the ÖSV and reached 2015th place at the 5 Junior World Championships. Now the Pinzgauer has ended his career at just 24 years of age - and in the process made a big dent against the association.

In a long text on Facebook, Dujakovic wrote that he was never considered a professional with a migrant background in Austrian skiing. “I was never accepted. I often had the feeling that some people were happy when I drove badly.” He cites a specific example from 2015, when Dujakovic met the qualifying standards for the Junior World Championships but was not selected. “After several protests, we agreed to qualify, which I ultimately won.”

Official clothing instead of official racing suits But the next setback came at the World Cup: “When I arrived in Norway, I was the only one who didn't get official clothing, but official clothing without sponsors. When I came 5th in the downhill, I was asked by the youth leader for media reasons to put on his jacket for the award ceremony.” At this point he realized “what they thought of me.”

“Pfiat eich”! Unfortunately the time has come to announce the end of my career! On social media you have...

Posted by Slaven Dujakovic on Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Dujakovic also wrote on Facebook about alleged discrimination such as unjustified expulsions from the squad. “Unfortunately I wasn’t completely accepted in Austrian skiing. The Austrian Ski Association never gave me the feeling that they needed me in skiing. “The top brass never made it easy for me,” said the Pinzgauer with Bosnian-Serbian roots. “In 2018, I was finally informed by the ÖSV that there was no place for me in the squad and that this would continue to be the case in the future,” said Dujakovic, who then sought a change of nation, but this did not happen. That's why he ended his career. ÖSV rejects all allegations The polemical farewell made waves in Austria. In any case, the association rejected all allegations. “We very much regret that Slaven Dujakovic obviously got the impression that he was not welcome in the ÖSV family. That was never the case, but we still take his view of things into account and will endeavor to have a clarifying conversation with him,” explained the ÖSV. The association also let it be known that Dujakovic “mostly clearly failed to meet” the squad guidelines.

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Ski retirement is causing a stir in Austria

Last week, Salzburg's Slaven Dujakovic announced the end of his career at the age of 24 and harshly attacked the Austrian Ski Association.

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