No. 07-00-85/2025-02  date: 29. 9. 2025.

OPINION

The Opinion was issued following a complaint submitted by the Chess Sports Association “AA” from B. against the Municipality of Mali Iđoš. The complaint states that there are two chess clubs operating in the territory of the Municipality of Mali Iđoš: the Chess Sports Association “AA” from B. and the Chess Club “Eđšeg” from Mali Iđoš, that both clubs competed in the same competition tier in 2024, and that the municipal commission for the allocation of funds for the competitive season did not treat the two clubs equally, as the Chess Sports Association “AA” was granted half the amount of funds approved for the Chess Club “Eđšeg”. It is further stated that during 2024 only 50% of the approved funds were disbursed to the Chess Sports Association “AA”, unlike the other club, and that a significant number of members of the “AA” club belong to the Montenegrin community, who supported the Montenegrin Party in the local elections held in 2024, while the President of the Chess Sports Association “AA”, Nenad Stevović, is an opposition councillor in the Municipal Assembly of Mali Iđoš, elected from the electoral list of the Montenegrin Party. They believe that, in this manner, the chess club was discriminated against on the grounds of the national affiliation and political beliefs of its members. In the statement of the President of the Municipality of Mali Iđoš, as well as in the supplementary statement, it was indicated that the criteria for allocating funds for the co-financing of citizens’ associations are regulated by the Rulebook on Categorization and the Method of Financing Sports Associations (Clubs) of the Municipality of Mali Iđoš, that, when approving funds for sports clubs, „the productivity of players and club staff is assessed in an approximate manner, including the extent to which the club and its players have been awarded, as well as the cost-effectiveness of sports activities organized by the club or in which it participated“, that the Sports Commission, in the call for applications for 2024, determined the amounts allocated to the Chess Sports Association “AA” and the Chess Club “Eđšeg” from Mali Iđoš, and that disbursements are carried out in accordance with the inflow of funds into the municipal budget. During the proceedings, primarily through an analysis of the Rulebook on Categorization and the Method of Financing Sports Associations (Clubs) of the Municipality of Mali Iđoš, it was established that the criteria for the categorization of sports clubs, and subsequently for the allocation of financial resources, are very complex and encompass multiple factors. The amount of financial resources allocated to chess clubs competing in the same competition tier is influenced by a number of circumstances that may result in different amounts of allocated funds. The complaint neither stated nor provided evidence to substantiate the allegations that the categorization and tender documentation of the two clubs were entirely identical, nor was it stated that the Chess Sports Association “AA” had lodged an objection regarding the decision on the amount of funds allocated. With regard to the allegations in the complaint that the sports club was treated differently, in the context of the allocation and disbursement of the approved funds, on the grounds of the national affiliation of its members, the Commissioner points out that national affiliation or affiliation with an ethnic community is a characteristic that can be attributed only to a natural person, and that the name of a club in itself does not indicate that all members of the club belong to the same national minority, particularly bearing in mind that the primary activity of a sports club is not the development and preservation of the culture, tradition, and national identity of a community. As regards the political beliefs of the members of the association as a possible ground of discrimination, no evidence was submitted that would make it plausible that the conduct of the municipal authorities toward the club was causally linked to the political beliefs of the members of the association. The Commissioner also gave particular consideration to the fact that Nenad Stevović was the club president at the time of concluding the Agreement on the Implementation of the Programme/Project in the Field of Sport with the Municipality of Mali Iđoš, when funds were allocated to the club, as well as to the fact that the club was allocated a higher amount of funds from the budget for 2025 compared to 2024. Following the conducted procedure, the established factual situation, and by applying the rule on the burden of proof under Article 45 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, the Commissioner adopted the opinion that the Municipality of Mali Iđoš did not violate the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Brankica Janković