Zlatko Matesa, president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, who resigned on 21 May 2026. Photo: HOO.
Zlatko Matesa resigned as president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, HOO on Thursday, amid an investigation into a 30-million-euro fraud case, after 24 years in the post.
Although Matesa, who was Croatian prime minister from 1995 to 2000, is not personally implicated in the investigation, he stepped down due to public pressure and a lack of support within the HOO.
“I am making this decision fully aware of the moment Croatian sport is facing and of the need for the focus of the public, institutions, and the entire sports community to be directed exclusively toward what is most important – a complete, responsible, and transparent clarification of all issues and circumstances within Croatian sport at all levels,” he said.
“Croatian sport, our athletes and our citizens, deserve a system in which trust, responsibility and equality apply equally to everyone – from the smallest to the largest federations, without exception,” he added.
The fraud case has been under investigation by the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime, USKOK, for several weeks. Prosecutors accuse Vedran Pavlek, former head of the Croatian Ski Association, of leading a crime group that allegedly embezzled 30 million euros from the federation between 2014 and 2026.
Pavlek went on the run and was arrested in Kazakhstan under an international arrest warrant. Extradition proceedings to Croatia are underway.
Pavlek has not yet made any public statement about the allegations against him.
According to reports, Matesa’s decision to resign came after the handball, basketball, water polo and volleyball federation heads submitted their resignations to the HOO Council. They resigned in order to encourage changes in the work of the HOO, said Perica Bukic, vice president of the water polo federation.
Having lost the support of the four major ball-sport federations, Matesa also resigned.
“I consider it necessary for institutions to thoroughly review and analyze the operations and activities of all components of the sports system, in the interest of its credibility and future, starting with the largest federations, regardless of the share of public funds in their budgets,” Matesa’s resignation statement said.
“Although I carried out my duties during my mandate guided solely by the interests of Croatian sport, I believe that, under the current circumstances, it is my moral obligation to take a step that will allow all attention to be focused on the processes that must bring clarity, trust, and stability,” it continued.
“I am making this decision as an act of moral responsibility and respect for Croatian sport, athletes, and the Croatian people,” Matesa concluded.
Matesa was born in 1949. He was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 during the era of President Franjo Tudjman, leading the government when Tudjman died in December 1999. During his term as an MP he started leading the HOO.
From 1993 to 1995, he was Croatia’s economy minister. His government is best remembered for imposing VAT of 22 per cent on all products. Matesa entered politics in 1990 and rose to become a senior member of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ.