Boban resigns because of Ceferin's plans to EXTEND his presidential term limit

Tensions have ramped up in UEFA's civil war following the resignation of chief football officer Zvonimir Boban in protest of proposed rule changes which could keep president Aleksander Ceferin in power beyond his current three-term limit.

Ceferin has headed the organisation since 2016 but could yet stay there until 2031, with the former lawyer planning to alter UEFA statutes so that his initial three years in power would not be counted.

Mail Sport reported in December that former Manchester United chief executive David Gill - who sits in UEFA's executive committee - was among the individuals leading opposition to the proposed term changes.

Ceferin's plans are shrouded in mystery, having withheld details of the proposed changes in documents sent to each UEFA members' national association in January.

The European governing body will meet for their annual congress in Paris this February.

But ahead of the meeting, Boban shared a statement on social media which detailed his own staunch opposition to the proposed amendment.

'I have spoken with the UEFA President about an issue that arose during the last UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Hamburg,' the former Croatia international's statement began.

'It relates to amendaments to the UEFA Statutes which are to be voted on at teh next UEFA Congress which is in Paris next month. Proposed changes, if approved, will allow the UEFA President to stand elected against after his current mandate, which according to the current UEFA Statutes should have been the UEFA President's last.

'Despite having expressed by deepest concern and total disapproval, the UEFA President does not consider there to be any legal issues with the proposed changes, let alone any moral or ethical ones, and he intends to move forward regardless in pursuit of his personal aspirations.

'Ironically, it was the UEFA President himself that proposed and launched a set of reforms in 2017 which were introduced to prevent such a possibility,' Boban continued, stressing that these measures were put in place to protect football from 'bad governance'.

'His shift away from these values is beyond comprehension.'

Boban added that he was not keen to be 'some sort of hero' as he highlighted that others at the top of the organisation felt similarly.

He added that 'being party to this would go against all the principles and values I wholeheartedly believe in and stanf for', before resigning 'with sorrow and a heavy heart'.

Boban's incendiary statement is likely to only inspire more members of the Executive Committee in opposition to the plans.

Ceferin initially inherited the position for the two-and-a-half years remaining on Michel Platini's term after the former vice-president of the French Football Federation was banned from the sport due to ethics violations.

The UEFA head was later elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.