Serbian rugby league is mourning the passing of former player and match official Milos Milinkovic, who has died suddenly at the age of 46.

Milinkovic was one of the primary forces in bringing the sport back to the country and played for Dorcol Spiders winning a number of domestic championships. He made seven appearances for the national side before becoming a leading referee.

“We received the news of his death with great pain and sadness,” said the SRLF in a statement. “Milos was one of the founders of the Rugby Club Dorcol as well as one of the people who, after the break in 1964, returned rugby league to Serbia in 2001. 

“He played for the national team in the first official match in 2003 in Lebanon at the Mediterranean Cup. At the end of his playing career, Milos dedicated himself to refereeing and was one of the best in Serbia for many years. He also achieved success on the international stage as a match official and served as director of our domestic competition.

“The Serbian Rugby League Federation expresses its sincerest condolences to Milos’s family. People like him never leave us, they remain in our hearts proudly and with the love that we pass on from generation to generation.”