Vardar returns to the Champions League, Ohrid won big on 17 saves, and Croatia is paying 10,000 euros for a flag

Vardar returns to the Champions League after four seasons away

Two-time European champion RK Vardar is back where it has spent years trying to return - in the elite EHF Champions League, after a four-season break. The first big away trip is to Germany's MT Melsungen, and the hosts have again provided a dedicated away sector for the „red-and-black" fans and a promotional code for cheaper tickets. The club issued an open call to fill the stands in that block. Four years away from the elite is no small thing for a side that lifted European handball's most precious trophy in 2017. The door has opened again - the next question is whether the squad matches the ambition or only the nostalgia.

The goalkeeper made 17 saves, Ohrid crushed Vojvodina 29:19

GRK Ohrid beat Serbia's Vojvodina 29:19 in the second round of the „Krste Andonovski - Ohrid 2026" tournament, a match that also counted towards the new Regional League. At half-time it was only 13:8 after an inefficient start, but in the second half Ohrid shifted up a gear - 20:12, then 28:16. The man of the match was goalkeeper Dino Slavić with an incredible 17 saves, including three of six penalties stopped, and he deservedly took the MVP award in the „Biljanini Izvori" hall. Mate and Ivanković added five goals each. Coach Boris Rojević celebrated against his own former club. In the semi-final Ohrid, defending the trophy, faces Zagreb.

The EHF fined Croatia 10,000 euros over a flag at the medal ceremony

The EHF Court of Appeal partly amended the first-instance decision in the case of the Croatian Handball Federation and player Matej Mandić. During the medal ceremony at the Men's EHF EURO 2026, Mandić unfurled a flag that is not part of EHF protocol and had not been approved under the applicable rules. The court rejected the Croatian federation's appeal and upheld the 10,000-euro fine, of which 2,500 is suspended for two years, and additionally accepted part of the EHF's appeal, imposing a 2,500-euro fine on the player himself. The deadline for an appeal to the Court of Handball Arbitration is 21 days. In the Balkans a flag on the podium is never just fabric - and now it comes with a price list.

Switzerland is back among the best after seven years, because the competition expanded

For seven years no Swiss club played in the EHF Champions League - the last was Kadetten Schaffhausen in the 2019/20 season. That wait is over, but not because of a Swiss breakthrough - because the competition expanded from 16 to 24 teams. Champions HC Kriens-Luzern are now among the participants, and the squad includes Austrian left back Nikola Bilyk, who described the situation drily and accurately: it is a strange feeling to play in the Champions League when your former club THW Kiel did not qualify for any European cup. Coach Andy Schmid says the club has gone through unprecedented development in four years and put itself on the European handball map. The expansion opens a door for smaller handball countries - the same door Vardar is coming back through.

Macedonia's under-20s play Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey at the Mediterranean Games

Head coach Aleksandar Tanevski has named the Macedonian under-20 squad for the „Taranto 2026" Mediterranean Games, where the group stage brings Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey - three matches that will decide everything. On the women's side, Noveska selected 14 names. A total of 3,854 athletes from 26 countries will compete at the games, making the event one of the larger ones in the region. Youth competitions rarely make headlines until they produce a result, and yet that is precisely where the squad that should carry the senior national team in five years gets built. If Vardar is returning to Europe, somebody has to fill that squad too - and those names are decided in Taranto, not in a studio.