He made the eagle with his hands, Shkëlzen Goqi is disqualified from the bridge jumping competition in Montenegro

He made the eagle with his hands, Shkëlzen Goqi is disqualified from the bridge jumping competition in Montenegro

The competitor from Kosovo, Shkëlzen Goqi, has been disqualified from the bridge jumping competition, which was held yesterday at the “Vezir Bridge” in Podgorica, Montenegro.

The reason for this disqualification is said to be the symbolic gesture of the eagle, which was interpreted as provocative by the organizers and part of the public.

Goqi, known in Kosovo for his high jumps and originally from Gjakova, had made the double-headed eagle symbol before his jump, a common gesture among Albanian athletes to express national identity.

According to Montenegrin media reports, this action was accompanied by boos from the public, while the jury then decided to disqualify him, as the organizers considered this gesture a “violation of the rules of the event.”

Podgorica’s sports secretary, Darko Nikcevic, has also confirmed the decision to disqualify, emphasizing that “the rules of the event clearly prohibit the display of inappropriate symbols and messages of a political, national or other nature.”

Shkëlzen Goqi himself has spoken about the case, calling this decision unfair.

Shkëlzen Goqi told “TV Syri” that “he represented Kosovo in Podgorica”, but that he was not introduced as a competitor from the Republic of Kosovo but was only called a dancer from Gjakova. He said that this disqualification that was made to him in Podgorica is an unfair decision.

Montenegrin media reported that Evald Krnić, the winner of the competition, was the initiator of Goqi’s disqualification.

“I immediately intervened with the professional jury, which made the decision to expel him. He was then also banned from participating in competitions of this type in Podgorica,” he told Montenegrin media./Express newspaper/