Memorie.al / The 1987 document of the Minister of Finance, Andrea Nako, sent to Pirro Kondi, for the “illegal actions” of some football players of the Albanian teams returning from international activities, is revealed, where it is stated, among others: “Flamurtari” footballers of Vlora, Kreshnik Çipi and Vasil Ruci refused to sign the document of the goods they had brought, managing to use such expressions; “You are treating us like Yugoslavs.”
As it is already known, the team “Partizani” of Belgrade that played in “Elbasan Arena” with “Skënderbeu” in Korça, has come to Albania for the past 30 years, in October 1987, to face ” Flamurtari” of Vlora, one of the most famous teams of Albanian football of those years. Without exaggerating at all, we can say that he made an era with those matches played in the framework of the European Cups, making a very dignified appearance even with teams such as; “Barcelona”, “Partizan” of Belgrade, “Vismut Aue” of East Germany, “Lech” of Poznan (Poland), “Olympiakos” of Piraeus, Greece, etc. Already these matches, or those of other teams in international activities, such as: “Partizani”, “17 Nëntori”, “Vllaznia”, are well known by Albanian sports fans of those years who filled the stadiums to the brim, but what It is not known exactly, is the “reward” received by those footballers (who were also the core of the national team), by the Albanian state ?! This thing, the “reward” for those excellent matches that took place Ruci, Kushta, Çipi, Ferko, etc., which have remained fresh in our memory, is announced by this archival document which is published for the first time exclusively for the Tema newspaper. Where the Minister of Finance of that time, Andrea Nako, through a report, informs the first secretary of the Party Committee of the Tirana district, Pirro Kondi, regarding the “inappropriate behavior of some football players of the football teams,” Partizani ” “Flamurtari” of Vlora and “Vllaznia” of Shkodra “. According to the document in question, some footballers of the “Flamurtari” team of Vlora, such as Petro Ruci, Vasil Ruci, Alfred Ferko, Viktor Daullja, Kreshnik Çipi, etc., had brought from abroad (it is about the match in Belgrade with the “Partizani” team), some radio-recorders and televisions, which were stopped by customs because they “were brought in illegally because their day was only $ 12”. And based on this fact, the tape recorders and televisions that these footballers had bought with hard work and sacrifice, saving even from their minimal diets, were seized and passed in favor of the state, without giving any reward to their possessors. Not only that, but they had to account for special meetings that would be held in their respective clubs “for those misconduct”…?! This was the “reward” that the communist regime offered to Albanian athletes at the time, which is also reflected in this archival document that is published in full in this article.
THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DIRECTORATE OF CUSTOMS
Nr. 1193
03/10/1987
SUBJECT: On the items brought in illegal ways by the football teams “Partizani”, “Vllaznia” and “Flamurtari”.
FIRST SECRETARY OF THE DISTRICT PARTY COMMITTEE
SHOKUT PIRRO KONDI
TIRANA
Football teams, “Partizani”. “Flamurtari” and “Vllaznia”, by order of the presidency of the Council of Ministers, the customs have kept electronic items, passing them to the state without compensation, after they were provided by them illegally, because with the diets they have they could not be bought.
Flagrant and reprehensible are the behaviors of 6 football players of the “Flamurtari” team of Vlora, when the diets were 12 dollars clearing, or approximately 8000 Yugoslav dinars per person, Leonidha Çurri, Viktor Daullja and Petro Ruci, brought from a radio tape recorder, while Sokol Kusta Kreshnik Çipi and Vasil Ruci, brought from a TV set.
The football teams of “Flamurtari” of Vlora and “Vllaznia” of Shkodra, held an inappropriate attitude with the employees of the customs of Shkodra and Gjirokastra, initially they refused to pass the customs control.
The football players of “Flamurtari” of Vlora, Kreshnik Çipi and Vasil Ruci refused to sign the document of the goods they had brought, managing to use such expressions; “You are treating us like Yugoslavs”, “we do not leave customs without getting radio-tape recorders and televisions”, such actions were shown by the football player Alfred Feko.
We think that these foreign performances that have been manifested by footballers during the customs control, as well as the illegal actions committed by them for bringing electronic items, should be analyzed with the teams of athletes, to issue responsibilities and take measures that these performances and illegal actions not to be repeated.
M I N I S T R I
ANDREA NAKO
Memorie.al