From Javno. com in Croatia:The Croatian Paralympics Committee has made a decision ending the soap opera surrounding Croatian Paralympics gold winner, Antonija Balek.
According to the committee, Croatian Paralympics gold winner Antonija Balek, her coach Ivica Rakeljic and the national team’s manager, Branko Omazic, have received three-month suspensions.Antonija realised that when she tried to do some training on the club’s field and was banned. According to unofficial information, even if she had not been suspended, she would not be allowed to perform because she insulted the people from the club with her statements in the media, as well as the man at the helm of Split’s sport, Ivan Vestic.
Unofficial sources say that the committee also passed special measures Antonia must fulfil in order not to be suspended again and in order to save the reputation of the Paralympics Committee.
After she returned from the Paralympics Games to Croatia, Antonija accused her coach Ivica Rakeljic of sending her death threats and of putting people on the list of rewards whom she did not even know. After that, scandals came one after the other.
The media found out that Antonia’s story about her car accident and subsequent coma was completely false, her brother told the media Antonija was faking her disability and could in fact walk, the stories about her being a police informant and that she would continue to train in Germany.
After that the Committee suspended them and after a hearing on Friday, decided to punish all the protagonists. But this did not prevent the government from paying monetary awards to all of them, although at first it said it would not until all the circumstances were established.