In a wide-ranging interview with goal.com, Arijan Ademi addressed a number of topics, including whether he regrets choosing Macedonia.

As we know by now, Arijan Ademi is a Croatian-born player who happens to be ethnic Albanian. His parents hail from the Tetovo region as he is actually first cousins with Agim Ibraimi (their mothers are sisters). Over the past couple of days, Ademi was a very popular topic in Croatian newspapers after he was substituted in the 30th minute, not injury related, of a game on April 28 against Osijek.

There has been much speculation about what exactly caused that early substitution. Since rumors began to spread about him throwing the Dinamo Zagreb jersey and having a heated exchange with the manager, Ademi decided to do an interview with the Croatian language version of the renowned soccer website goal.com.

In the interview, which you can read here, Ademi declared what happened that got his coach angry.

Arijan admitted that he cursed at the referee and knew right away that he was wrong. He apologized to the referee after that happened, but the Dinamo manager deemed that unacceptable behavior. So, Ademi was replaced. However, Arijan categorically denied that he ever threw the jersey or that he got into a heated exchange with the coach. He called both of those allegations “nonsense and completely untrue.”

Furthermore, as the captain, Ademi said that it is his job to talk to the referees, but he understands that he went too far in the game versus Osijek. He said that he learned his lesson and apologized to the team.

Besides that incident, Arijan was also asked about his future. In answering a question whether he wants to stay in Dinamo beyond this summer or move abroad, Ademi said, “I don’t know nor do I bother to think about those things right now. I’m only focused on winning the domestic cup as well as the league trophy.”

On Saturday, Dinamo Zagreb officially won the league trophy after their 5:1 triumph over RNK Split. Second placed Rijeka can no longer catch Dinamo. Ademi responded by playing a part in two of the goals while featuring in all 90 minutes. On the first goal, Arijan sent a long pass that reached a Dinamo striker who controlled the ball before being brought down by the opposing keeper. That spot kick was converted. Then, on the next goal, Ademi recorded an assist when his low cross was tapped in from close range by Ángelo Henríquez.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=O5-M7-UIf1k

Finally, the final two questions of his interview were about the Macedonian national team. In one of them, Arijan said that he still hasn’t talked to new manager Ljubinko Drulović. He acknowledged that a top three finish is unlikely, but he wants Macedonia to finish the qualifications strong and with as many points from the final five games as possible.

When asked whether he regrets choosing Macedonia, Ademi stated, “Haha, not at all, I don’t regret it. That is a closed chapter.”