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| - Life has become more complicated for Ilija Ivic since he accepted an international call up that would make him the first ethnic Serb footballer to represent Kosovo. After the 17-year-old, who lives in a Serbian enclave in Kosovo, said in an interview he had agreed to play for the Kosovo U19 team, the reaction in Serbia, which 12 years on still refuses to recognise its former province as a country, was hostile. "Revolution in Kosovo -- here is the first Serb in a team of the so-called state" read one tabloid headline in Belgrade. "Bomb in Kosovo -- a Serb in the Kosovo team" read another. He was also called a traitor on social media and his mother, Tanja Ivic, who worked at a cultural centre in Gracanica, a Serb-majority enclave near Pristina, was sacked without official explanation immediately after Ilija announced his intention to play for Kosovo, his father Dusan told AFP. Unofficially, she was told that her son's decision was the reason for her dismissal. Institutions in Kosovo's Serb-majority enclaves are funded by the Belgrade government. "I still have my job," Dusan Ivic said by phone. "But I'm afraid I'm going to be the target of similar measures. We only want good things for our child." "If Serbs can be part of the institutions, parliament and so on, I don't understand why Ilija is being campaigned against," he added. Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti supported Ivic on social media. "Yesterday," Kurti tweeted in English, "a 17 year old boy in Gracanica Ilija Ivic, was subjected to segregation by Belgrade influenced local structures for wanting to play with Albanians. "Agreements alone cannot remedy one's problems of racism and hatred of others. Let Ilija play freely wherever he choses." The 17-year-old plays for Pristina Flamurtari, a club where the majority of the players are Kosovo Albanians. According to local media, he is one of the best young players in Kosovo, and his talent has earned him the attention of U19 coach Ramiz Krasniqi. ih-mat/pb/td
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