Serbia Manager Reveals Reasons Behind Luka Milivojevic's Continued International Exile
Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic has been axed from Serbia's squad after a row with manager Mladen Krstajic after a disappointing World Cup campaign.
Following a group stage exit in Russia last summer, the midfielder will now not be a part of the the Serbian Euro 2020 qualification campaign, having also missed Nations League fixtures last year.
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Milivojevic, who has 30 Serbia caps to his name, has now had the door to his international future closed by Krstajic after the 27-year-old criticised his manager's tactics following a 2-1 defeat to Switzerland in their second group game, as reported by Reuters.
“Luka is no longer ready to play for Serbia because we have failed to come to terms and put certain issues behind us,” Krstajic said in a news conference. "Serbia is bigger than either Milivojevic or myself and our priority is to create a good atmosphere for what lies ahead.”
Milivojevic was unhappy at being substituted for winger Nemanja Radonjic late in the match against the Swiss, with the score at the time 1-1.
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Following Milivojevic's comments, assistant manager Milan Obradovic accused the Palace man of attempting to stage a 'coup' against the staff at the tournament, which was only Serbia's second World Cup as independent nation.
The midfielder denied that accusation, but was subsequently left out of Serbia's entire Nations League campaign, in which they won promotion to group B. Krstajic and his staff met with Milivojevic in London last month to try and resolve the argument, but the midfielder refused to apologise for his remarks.
The manager said: “We failed to find common ground despite the fact that both parties said they only wanted what’s best for Serbia," adding: "It's no longer open for discussion."
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Serbia open their qualifying campaign against Portugal in Lisbon on 25 March, after a friendly against Germany five days earlier.
