Cindrić Explodes Over EHF EURO Schedule: ‘This Is a Disaster’”

Croatian handball players will have to play two matches within 24 hours (in some cases even less) at the business end of EHF EURO 2026 in Malmö. The group that started later still has to finish on the same day as the one in Herning, so both sides get an equal amount of recovery time ahead of the semi-finals on Friday and the final day on Sunday.

After the kind of physical drain seen on Tuesday, this schedule hardly feels humane. One of the voices speaking out was Croatia’s most experienced international, Luka Cindrić, who raised the issue after the win over Slovenia, ahead of the decisive clash with Hungary:

“Everything hurts. First of all, I have to talk about the fact that we’re playing again in less than 24 hours. I think whoever organized this has definitely never been involved in sport. I’ll give you an example: we sacrifice so much. We go through the entire preparation period, and then after the sixth or seventh game we play a match that decides our semi-final fate. And then the next one comes in less than 24 hours. It’s hard — it’s really hard and intense,” Cindrić said, before continuing:

“It’s a disaster. You can’t properly recover in two days, let alone one. I don’t know — I’m not making excuses. It’s the same for us as it is for everyone else, but the players should have a say in this too. I would definitely like to see this change in the future, because what they’re doing is crazy. This is a catastrophe and it’s definitely not healthy for anyone. I had to say it to get it off my chest, because I’m so angry about it. I can’t believe they’re doing this at such a big tournament,” Cindrić made clear.

Croatia could still reach the semi-finals even with a loss, but a win would secure first place.

PHOTO: HRS/Kolektiff Jozo Cabraja