Uroš Mitrović suspended — Vardar missing back for Melsungen match

Vardar will begin its new EHF Champions League campaign without one of its regular backcourt players: Uroš Mitrović will not travel for the opening match at Melsungen on 10 September 2026. The Serbian international is sidelined because of a disciplinary suspension, not an injury.

Background of the ban

Mitrović did not join the team’s flight to Germany after being handed a disciplinary measure that traces back to the closing phase of last season’s European campaign. In the return leg of the EHF European League quarter-final against Montpellier at Jane Sandanski Arena he received a direct red and blue card, and the European Handball Federation (EHF) later imposed a four-match suspension.

Because Vardar’s European season ended with that tie, the remaining matches of Mitrović’s ban are carried over to the new Champions League season. As a result he will miss Vardar’s first four group-stage fixtures: the away games at Melsungen and Wisła Płock, and the home matches against Nantes and Wisła Płock.

The club will have to reshuffle its backcourt options for the opener in Melsungen and the following European fixtures while the coaching staff adapts the rotation to cover Mitrović’s absence. Vardar still travels with the rest of the squad, but the loss of an experienced right/left back reduces the team’s depth in set plays and defensive substitutions.

The suspension timeline means Mitrović can return only after the fourth Champions League game listed above, assuming no further disciplinary changes from the EHF.

Photo: press material from the event