Timur Dibirov, the Vardar handball player who scored the best goal at the EHF Champions League, had the sharpest words of warning aimed at the Zaev regime after the spectacular Vardar win on Sunday. Vardar is facing major financial problems due to Zaev’s vendetta against its main supporter, Russian businessman Sergey Samsonenko, which brought it to the point that the team was about to break up ahead of the finals.

We played an excellent game and we deserved to win. If all is not brought in order after this title, then we should all take off our sneakers and end our careers. This title is more important than the first, because we know what we’ve been through to get here, Dibirov said.

Samsonenko assured the players that Vardar will endure all the pressure and attacks and will go for its third title next year. Samsonenko was publicly called out in pro-Zaev media outlets, Zaev himself blamed Russian businessmen of working against him, and Vardar’s win and the outpouring of national pride it caused cut directly at the “North Macedonia” project which Zaev is pushing on the country.