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By Zoran Milosavljevic BELGRADE, Aug 3 - Partizan Belgrade crushed
Zrinjski Mostar 11-1 on aggregate in a UEFA Cup first
qualifying round tie, but the Serbian club's progress depends
on whether UEFA lifts a one-year ban against them. Partizan had been thrown out of the competition last month
following a fan riot in the first leg in Bosnia but were
allowed to continue after lodging an appeal against the
verdict. UEFA officials are set to decide on Partizan's fate on Aug.
10. A Stevan Jovetic hat-trick and a goal apiece from Darko
Maletic and Portuguese midfielder Moreira gave Partizan a 5-0
win in Thursday's incident-free return leg. "We played some very good football and I hope UEFA allows
us to carry on because we have shown that we are worthy
contenders in the competition," Partizan coach Miroslav Djukic
said. UEFA said last month Zrinjski would go through to the
second qualifying round if its appeals body upheld the ban on
Partizan, which Serbian FA chief Zvezdan Terzic described as a
"very likely outcome." "Partizan deserves to be pardoned as we have finally shown
to Europe that we can be civilised but I am afraid their
chances of staying in the competition are slim," he said. Zrinjski coach Blaz Sliskovic acknowledged there was a huge
gulf in class between the two sides and added there should be
only one winner. "On football merits, Partizan absolutely deserved to go
through and secure a berth in Friday's draw for the second
qualifying round," he said.
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