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Football coaching changes in Turkey and Serbia

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2026-10-19 11:29 UTC → 2026-10-22 17:56 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In mid-October 2026, several football coaching changes occurred in Turkey and Serbia. In Turkey, Samsunspor appointed Croatian manager Nenad Bjelica to replace Thorsten Fink following five consecutive losses. In Serbia, Nenad Lalatović returned to manage Novi Pazar, taking over from Strahinja Pandurović. Lalatović, who expressed strong emotional ties to the city, stated his primary objective is to secure results to reach the playoffs and potentially qualify for European competitions. His return follows the reappointment of player Adem Ljajić to the squad. Lalatović noted that his first major challenge would be a match against IMT, a team he described as a “highly organized and dangerous opponent.” Lalatović’s debut match resulted in a 2-1 defeat for Novi Pazar against IMT during the 12th round of the Serbian Superliga. The match was significantly impacted when Papa Gadio received a red card in the 27th minute following a VAR review. Although Novi Pazar took the lead through Kahim Dikson in the 48th minute, IMT capitalized on their numerical advantage with goals from Keita and Kamano to secure the win. The loss dropped Novi Pazar to ninth place in the ~~standings with 13 points, while IMT moved to third.~~ standings. Following the ~~match,~~ defeat, Lalatović criticized referee Nikola Radaković, ~~expressing frustration regarding disciplinary decisions~~ alleging that 16 errors were made against his team and ~~their impact on the fairness of the game. He specifically noted~~ that early yellow cards ~~for his players~~ placed ~~the team~~ them in an unfairly difficult position. The club ~~has since escalated its stance, issuing~~ issued a formal statement demanding the lifetime exclusion of Radaković from all future Novi Pazar matches and ~~calling~~ called on the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) to provide ~~answers regarding~~ answers. Regarding the ~~officiating.~~ upcoming match against Radnički Niš, Lalatović expressed satisfaction with the appointment of referee Srđan Jovanović, whom he described as one of the best in Serbia.

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