Committee president’s statement: “he made a mistake,” “it is inconsistent with the Code of Ethics”

Anđelko Botica, president of the Committee for Special Licenses, said that Igor Čerenšek had made a mistake by referring to himself as a sports psychologist without the relevant special license, and that this was inconsistent with the Code of Ethics. This was a public statement by an officeholder in the Croatian Psychological Chamber, published in Večernji list on February 9, 2017.

What the Committee president said: quotation, source, and date

"He made a mistake by referring to himself as a sports psychologist without the relevant special license, which is inconsistent with the Code of Ethics" were Anđelko Botica's words, as president of the Committee for Special Licenses, in a Večernji list article dated February 9, 2017. This is an English translation of the quoted Croatian statement.

The statement was a direct response to the statement in which the Chamber had distanced itself from Čerenšek's work and public appearances three days earlier. It was reported as the position of an officeholder within the professional chamber.

In context: why the profession reacted

During the week beginning February 6, 2017, the profession publicly set out its framework: the Chamber distanced itself from Čerenšek's work and public appearances and stated that he did not then have a special license for the field of psychological preparation of athletes.

The professional reaction was connected to the public use of the title. In public communication, the Chamber linked the title "sports psychologist" to a special license rather than a basic one.

What the Code of Ethics means in practice

The professional Code of Ethics governs public self-presentation and the boundaries of professional work. In the Committee president's statement, the reference to it concerned using the title without the appropriate special license.

Two things must be kept separate: the statement about inconsistency with the Code was made publicly and attributed to an authorized person, while the record does not establish legal consequences beyond that statement.

The boundary: statement versus established fact

The statement should not be turned into our own assertion. This text reports what the Committee president said, who published it, and when; it does not independently claim that it was "proven unethical."

The statement records the position of an authorized Chamber representative. It is a dated public record with a named speaker, not independent confirmation of every element it mentions.