Mirko Jurilj | |
Birth Date: | 4 November 1973 |
Birth Place: | Australia |
Youthclubs1: | Hurstville Boys |
Years1: | 1992–1993 |
Clubs1: | Sydney Croatia |
Years2: | 1993 |
Clubs2: | Wollongong United |
Years3: | 1995–1996 |
Clubs3: | Johor FA |
Years5: | 1998 |
Clubs5: | Johor FA[1] |
Years6: | 1999 |
Clubs6: | Sembawang Rangers |
Years7: | 1999–2000 |
Years8: | 2000 |
Clubs8: | Sembawang Rangers |
Years9: | 2001 |
Clubs9: | Hurstville ZSC |
Years10: | 2001–2002 |
Clubs10: | Parramatta Eagles |
Years11: | 2002 |
Clubs11: | Fraser Park FC |
Years12: | 2002–2003 |
Clubs12: | Pietà Hotspurs |
Years13: | 2003 |
Clubs13: | Sutherland Sharks |
Years14: | 2003 |
Clubs14: | Wollongong City |
Clubs15: | St George FC |
Clubs16: | Hurstville ZSC |
Clubs17: | St George FC |
Years18: | 2006–2007 |
Clubs18: | Blacktown City FC |
Years19: | 2008–2009 |
Clubs19: | Sydney Olympic FC[2] |
Years20: | 2010 |
Clubs20: | Blacktown City FC |
Years21: | 2011 |
Clubs21: | Rockdale City Suns FC |
Years22: | 2014 |
Clubs22: | St George FC |
Caps22: | 14 |
Goals22: | 0 |
Mirko Jurij (born 4 November 1973) is an Australian retired footballer who played as a defender or midfielder.
Convicted of attempting to fix a match while with Sembawang Rangers in autumn 2000,[3] Jurilj failed to make the 22000 Singaporean dollars as his three bets did not come true and was sentenced to five months' jail by December[4] where he shared a cell with six others, had to serve laundry duty, and became increasingly ill at one point.[5] Despite claiming to not tried to have fixed a match,[5] the Australian was never vindicated and was banned for life from Asian football but not worldwide,[6] with FIFA saying that the ban was enough punishment.[7] However, the Australian was banned worldwide in late June 2001 for seven months,[8] which ended prematurely, ending during mid-August the same year.[9]
A member of Johor in 1995 and 1996, the defender-cum-midfielder was set to be bought by the Southern Tigers for the 2004 Malaysia Premier League,[10] but they reversed on the offer at the beginning of 2004.[11]
Transferring to Pieta Hotspurs of the Maltese Premier League in summer 2002, Jurilj was named man of the match twice in his first three outings, solidifying his place in defense for the first team and drawing comparisons with Romanian import Lucian Dronca.[12] Settling well into the country, he stated that "The overall technical ability of the players is quite good but what the teams here (in Malta) lack is physical preparation."[12] Suspended for once for making insulting remarks to the referee,[13] he split ways with Hotspurs at the start of 2003.[14]