Serbia’s Dusan Vlahovic denies affair claims at 2022 World Cup

Dusan Vlahovic, a forward on Serbia’s national team, has vehemently denied allegations he is having an affair with the wife of a teammate, calling the claims “absurd.”

When taking part in a recent media session, Vlahovic addressed the accusations that appeared to surface in light of his playing time at the World Cup, which was an off-the-bench appearance in Serbia’s 2-0 loss to Brazil last Thursday, per the Daily Mail. Vlahovic’s lack of minutes sparked questions, with the Serbian media claiming the reasoning behind the move was because of an alleged affair between the athlete and Ana Cakic, the spouse of Serbia’s goalkeeper, Predrag Rajkovic.

“I am sorry to have to start the press conference in the World Cup this way, but I have to talk about it because this is my name being bandied about,” the 22-year-old Vlahovic said.

“What we all read and hear about, there’s no need to comment on something so absurd. Evidently these people are bored and have nothing better to do because they are frustrated or angry, but working against the national interest of the team at the moment is obviously their main job right now.”

Vlahovic, who also plays for Juventus F.C., said Serbia’s team is “more united than ever and the atmosphere in the squad has never been better.”

“These stories are ridiculous, I just want to protect my name and my integrity, so I will take legal action if necessary,” he said. “It’s not the first time this has happened, I would’ve hoped that people would support the team before such an important match, but instead we are forced to talk about things that have nothing to do with it.”

Serbia will face Switzerland on Friday in the Group G finale after wrapping up Monday’s match versus Cameroon with a 3-3 draw. Despite the 0-1-1 start, Serbia still has the opportunity to advance to the knockout stage with a win over the Swiss combined with Brazil beating or tying Cameroon.

As for Cakic, she too shut down the rumors on social media.

“We’ve survived worse, believe me. Thanks to all the journalists who ignored me and didn’t publish anything about Tadija’s health condition, and the other people who think it’s best to attack a wounded lion got a little carried away, because the pack is defending it! Thank you!” she wrote, per the Daily Mail.

Cakic married the 27-year-old Rajkovic in 2018. They have two children.