Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
It has been claimed that the change in the crest of the Montenegrin football club Tuzi, Dečić, has sparked chaos.
These claims have been made by Serbian-language media in recent days, mainly with similar headlines.
What is being said about the new emblem?
KF Deçiqi from the city of Tuzi, Montenegro, published the club's new logo on the social network Instagram on March 28 of this year (see here).
Serbian language media, "Inform", on March 30 published an article, with the title "Chaos in Montenegro! The champion changed the emblem with the colors of Albania, the fans go crazy: Catastrophe, sadness... (PHOTO)".
It is claimed that the fans of the "Deçiq" club are upset with the decision to change the emblem, which now bears the colors red and black, and with the club's name in two languages, Montenegrin and Albanian.
In addition to "Informer", claims of dissatisfaction on the part of fans have also been made by other Serbian-language media outlets, such as "News"and "Telegraf".
Regarding the new emblem, there were claims of dissatisfaction from Serbian-language media even in July of last year, when its change was announced.
On July 2, 2024, Serbian-language media “Inform" had claimed that a friendly match between KF Radnički (Serbia) and KF Dečić (Montenegro) had been canceled, and the reason for this was also claimed to have been the new emblem, which had only been announced at the time.
What is known about these two cases?
Hibrid.info has investigated the case of the alleged chaos over the new emblem of the Deçiqi football club.
The president of KF Deçiqi, Pal Dreshaj, in a television appearance on "Klan Kosova", denied the claims of Serbian-language media about chaos.
Excerpt from Dreshaj's statement:
"In Tuz, it was very well received by the Albanian fans. Of course, there is a group of fans who were in the previous set, who alienated the club, who were also against the management that took over four years ago, and we took the club from almost the 3rd league, with debts, without infrastructure, without results, without an academy. Even then they were against it, they are against it now. After four years of success, that is, until the championship title, with a new stadium, with an established academy that is respectable in Montenegro, they are of course now against it, but they are a small minority."
"It's a lie, fake news. Everything at the club is going well, perfect. There are some reactions on social networks, but they are few, while almost all the fans and lovers of the club are enthusiastic and happy about this move", declared Dreshaj for the television "Klan Kosova" (HERE from minute 12:00).
Meanwhile, the claim from July last year by the Serbian-language media "Inform", that the reason for the cancellation of the friendly match between Radnički and Decič in the Serbian town of Zlatibor was the new emblem announced by Decič, was dismissed.
With the title, "Are you Montenegrins or Albanians? Radnički prevented the scandal", (the term for Albanians in the title of this article is used in the pejorative form 'Šiptari') Serbian-language media claimed that the friendly match announced for July 2 was canceled due to the new logo announced by the Montenegrin club.
But, that day it was reported that in addition to the Radnički vs Dečić match, the other friendly match between KF Mornar (Montenegro) and FK Mladost Lučani (Serbia) had also been cancelled. The reason for the cancellation of these two matches was bad weather (here).
Article translated into Albanian by the Montenegrin language media outlet, "DAN":
"The two Montenegrin teams that are preparing for their appearance on the European stage in Zlatibor, Dečiqi and Mornari, did not play their scheduled matches today."
"Tuzians were to play against Radnički from Kragujevac, and Mornar against Mladost from Lučani. However, the storm that hit the Zlatibor region led to the cancellation of these matches."
"The Montenegrin champion has completed preparations in Zllatibor and will not have any more control matches, while Mornar, weather permitting, will play against Lucan tomorrow at 11 am. After that match, Mornar's expedition returns to Montenegro," said the article in the Montenegrin-language media "DAN", on July 2, 2024.
Analyze
Serbian-language media outlets have claimed that chaos is occurring at the Montenegrin football club "Dečić". The reason for this, these media outlets claimed, is the change of the club's emblem.
However, the president of KF Deçiqi, Pal Dreshaj, in a television appearance, denied the claims of Serbian-language media about chaos, saying that these claims are lies.
Also, for the same reason, namely the change of the KF Dečići emblem, Serbian-language media reported without facts that the friendly match with KF Radnički (Serbia) in 2024 had also been canceled.
This claim was also dismissed, as on the day the Radnički vs. Dečiqi test match was canceled, the other friendly between Mornar (Montenegro) and Mladost from Lučani (Serbia) was also canceled, and the reason was bad weather.
Based on its working methodology, hibrid.info qualifies these claims as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.