Yugoslav fury over Olympic 'terror'

'UNPRECEDENTED human terror' was how the Yugoslav tennis coach described it. When the world's sportsmen and women parade through Barcelona's Olympic stadium tomorrow, one team will be prominent by its absence - that of Yugoslavia.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled yesterday that athletes from Serbia and Montenegro, which make up what is left of Yugoslavia, could not take part in the opening and closing ceremonies - the first time in Olympic history that a team has suffered this indignity.

The decision, which was taken in line with United Nations sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro, also means that the Yugoslavs are barred from team events, though they can compete as individuals under the Olympic flag.

'What the IOC and the UN are doing is unprecedented sport and human terror,' declared the tennis coach, Radmilo Armenulic. 'Never in the history of sport has such drastic pressure been exerted as now on the Yugoslav athletes.'

Hristo Gergov, who is the coach of the 4 x 400m relay squad, said: 'The whole thing has been cynical from the very start. They let us train until the last moment and then told us two days before the start of the games. I think we should say thanks but no thanks for the invitation.'

Lan Vasojevic, who runs the women's basketball squad, said: 'This is the end of sport and the Olympic ideal. The girls are not just dejected, they are totally broken. After all the effort and sweat, you are simply removed from the list by a stroke of a pen.'

The women's handball manager, Milorad Milatovic, said: 'My players sacrificed everything - family lives, professional careers, even simple everyday things - to that one goal, taking part in the Olympics.'

Of the other four former Yugoslav republics, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina will compete under their own colours, while Macedonia - denied international recognition because of Greek pressure - will take part, though not under its own name. Yugoslavia was also banned last month from the European Football Championships in Sweden. Its last-minute replacement, Denmark, won the tournament.

Olympic round-up, page 31