A panel of judges of Zagreb County Court on Monday rejected a request by football coach Zoran Mamic to serve his prison sentence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereby the ruling on his imprisonment in Croatia became final, the court reported on Monday.

If Zoran Mamic fails to appear at the Remetinac jail in Zagreb by midnight, jail authorities will advise the sentencing judge accordingly and Zagreb County Court will issue an order to the police to issue an Interpol warrant for his arrest and the court will also issue a European Arrest Warrant, the court’s spokesman Kresimir Devcic told state agency Hina.

After the arrest warrant is issued the USKOK anti-corruption office can request that he be tried in absentia in another case, which will be decided on by a panel of judges at Osijek County Court, that court’s spokesman Miroslava Rozac explained.

Rozac added that a hearing will then be set for that second trial at which Mamic regularly appeared until departing for Bosnia and Herzegovina in April and when he requested to serve his sentence in that country.

The Osijek court had earlier informed that Zoran’s fugitive brother Zdravko was expected to appear in the Remetinac jail on 14 May and that if he fails to arrive in Croatia, Osijek County Court would issue an arrest warrant against him. Zdravko Mamic’s case, who had earlier been deemed a fugitive, is in the remit of the Osijek Court, considering that he escaped to Bosnia prior to his conviction being announced.

The Supreme Court sentenced Zoran Mamic to four years and eight months in prison for siphoning money from the Dinamo football club. A former tax collector, Milan Pernar is also obliged to front up to the Remetinac jail by midnight Monday. He was sentenced to three years and two months. In mid-March the Supreme Court upheld a six and a half year sentence for Zdravko Mamic in the case and a three year sentence for the club’s former director, Darmir Vrbanovic.

Osijek County Court on Monday started proceedings in a second trial against Zdravko Mamic for siphoning money from the club. Two judges at the court have in the meantime been suspended after they were seen associating with Mamic while trying his case.