Bosnia official beaten by fans

Ceko was attacked in front of the team's hotel, the report said.

"They asked me if I were a chairman of the federation, I said 'No.' Then they asked me if I were his deputy. Four of five men came close and started beating me," Ceko said upon returning to Bosnia.

Ceko was hospitalised for slight head injuries, a federation statement said.

The attackers have yet to be identified, but the TV said they were Bosnian fans 'dissatisfied with activities of the Bosnian Federation'.

Bosnia's football federation was threatened with expulsion from international competition after it failed to adopt statute changes requested by FIFA and UEFA, aimed at replacing an ethnic-based tripartite presidency by a single president.

The federation has another chance to change its statute before the coming session of UEFA executive committee.

The presidency's members represent the country's three ethnic communities - Croats, Muslims and Serbs.

Post-war Bosnia consists of two semi independent entities - the Serb-run Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation.

The federation's organisation, often criticised by football fans and players, reflects the country's ethnic divisions.