| Season | 1965–66 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Vojvodina (1st title) |
| Relegated | Radnički Belgrade NK Trešnjevka |
| European Cup | Vojvodina |
| Cup Winners' Cup | OFK Belgrade |
| Top goalscorer | Petar Nadoveza (21) |
|
← 1964–65
1966–67 →
|
|
The 1965–66 Yugoslav First League season was the 20th season of the First Federal League (Serbo-Croatian: Prva savezna liga), the top level association football league of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. Sixteen teams contested the competition, with Vojvodina winning their first national title.
Contents |
Though the events in question happened a year earlier, the 1965-66 season was marked by revelation of match fixing from two seasons before. FK Željezničar, Hajduk Split, and NK Trešnjevka were in August 1965, just as the new season began, found guilty of fixing matches back in the 1963-64 season. Their guilt was based on the written statement by Željo goalkeeper Ranko Planinić who decided to come forward some 14 months after the fact. In his statement Planinić claimed on the record that his club threw matches against Hajduk and Trešnjevka towards the end of the 1963-64 season in order to help those two relegation-threatened teams avoid the drop. Specifically, Planinić claimed that the match played on 31 May 1964 in Split when Hajduk beat Željezničar 4-0 was fixed as well as the match on 7 June 1964 in Sarajevo when Željo and Trešnjevka tied 3-3. He was in Željo's goal for both matches.
This explosive testimony erupted in a nationwide scandal that became known as the 'Planinić Affair'. Many times in the past Yugoslav First League was plagued with rumours and whispers about widespread match fixing, however this was the very first occasion that a player came forward and substantiated those claims on the record.
On 27 August 1965 the Yugoslav FA's disciplinary body (disciplinski sud) presided over by Svetozar Savić handed out the following punishment:
Disciplinary body president Svetozar Savić also announced that the investigation revealed that Željezničar was paid YUD1.5 million by Hajduk Split while Željezničar got YUD4 million from Trešnjevka, which was obtained by Trešnjevka board members that were employed at Zagreb Fair.[1] For perspective, the price of a daily newspaper at the time was YUD40.
On appeal, the main punishment for the three clubs was reduced to points-deduction. Željo, Hajduk, and Trešnjevka were docked 6, 5, and 5 points, respectively.
As a result of missing two of their best players Željezničar struggled mightily to avoid relegation. For the crucial league matches in the survival fight towards the end of the season, Ivica Osim was allowed back on the pitch and Željo barely avoided relegation. Osim's goal against Radnički Niš is especially remembered as it effectively kept Željo in the First League.
Despite taking active part in both fixed matches, Planinić got off unpunished. In the years since, Planinić's motivation to become a whistleblower was sometimes questioned in the media outlets close to the punished clubs with some claiming that he did it out of spite because his contract negotiations with FK Željezničar stalled in August 1965.[2]
| Rank | Club | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Qualifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vojvodina Novi Sad | 30 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 53 | 28 | +25 | 43 | 1966–67 European Cup |
| 2 | Dinamo Zagreb | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 35 | 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1966–67 Mitropa Cup |
| 3 | Velež Mostar | 30 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 35 | 1966–67 Mitropa Cup |
| 4 | NK Rijeka | 30 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 32 | |
| 5 | Red Star Belgrade | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 31 | 1966–67 Mitropa Cup |
| 6 | OFK Beograd | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 30 | 1966–67 European Cup Winners' Cup |
| 7 | Radnički Niš | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 29 | |
| 8 | Olimpija Ljubljana | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 43 | 47 | -4 | 29 | |
| 9 | FK Sarajevo | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 40 | 44 | -4 | 29 | |
| 10 | Vardar Skopje | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 47 | 44 | +3 | 24 | 1966–67 Balkans Cup |
| 11 | FK Partizan | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 47 | -2 | 28 | |
| 12 | Željezničar Sarajevo | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 35 | 36 | -1 | 26 (-6) | |
| 13 | Hajduk Split | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 45 | 37 | +9 | 25 (-5) | |
| 14 | NK Zagreb | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 39 | 58 | -19 | 25 | |
| 15 | Radnički Beograd | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 32 | 53 | -21 | 25 | |
| 16 | Trešnjevka Zagreb | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 41 | 74 | -33 | 13 (-5) | |
| - | Sutjeska Nikšić | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| - | Čelik Zenica | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Champions:
players (league matches/league goals):
Silvester Takač (30/13)
Vasa Pušibrk (30/2)
Ilija Pantelić (30/0) -goalkeeper-
Vladimir Savić (29/5)
Žarko Nikolić (29/4)
Ivan Brzić (29/0)
Stevan Sekereš (29/0)
Dobrivoje Trivić (28/7)
Mladen Vučinić (26/0)
Đorđe Pavlić (18/8)
Stevan Nestički (17/0)
Dimitrije Radović (16/1)
Radivoj Radosav (12/4)
Adolf Lambi (8/2)
Veljko Aleksić (4/0)
Đorđe Milić (3/1)
Tonče Stamevski (3/0)
Rajko Aleksić (2/0)
Branislav Veljković (1/0)-goalkeeper-
Anđelko Marinković (1/0)
Dragan Surdučki (1/0)[3]
Borac Cacak 0 - 3 FK Partizan
NK Rijeka 3 - 1 FK Partizan
OFK Beograd x - x X
NK Dinamo Zagreb x - x X
| Home Club (de facto) | Score | Visiting Club |
|---|---|---|
| OFK Beograd |
6 - 2 |
Dinamo Zagreb |
| Date | May 26, 1966 | |
| Locale | Stadion JNA, Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Attendance | 35,000 (around the same) | |
| Referee | A. Šestić (Mostar) | |
| OFK Beograd (coach: D. Milić) |
B.V. Djordjević, Milovanović, Grujić, Vukašinović, P. Krivokuća, Dragan Gugleta, Spasoje Samardžić, Dakić, Slobodan Santrač, Josip Skoblar, Banović | |
| Dinamo Zagreb (coach: Ivan Jazbinšek) |
Zlatko Škorić, Rudolf Cvek, Petar Lončarić, Branko Gračanin, Mladen Ramljak, Miljenko Puljčan, Pavić, Josip Gucmirtl, Slaven Zambata, Ivica Kiš, Stjepan Lamza | |
| Notes | Scorers: 1-0 Skoblar (10'), 2-0 Santrač (17'), 2-1 Kiš (29'), 3:1 Santrač (36'), 4-1 Skoblar 4-1 (43'), 5-1 Samardžić (63'), 6-1 Samardžić (85'), 6-2 Lamza (87') | |
|
||||||||||||||