Serbian Football Association (FSS) vice-president Dragan Dzajic and two other senior soccer officials charged with fraud earlier this year were released from custody on Friday.

Dzajic, a former president of top Serbian club Red Star Belgrade, was arrested along with its former head of operations Vladimir Cvetkovic and secretary Milos Marinkovic in February on charges of fraud and abuse of power involving player transfers.

Serbia’s Supreme Court ruled there was "no ground to keep the accused in detention, bearing in mind there is no danger that they might repeat the offence or flee the country."

"Hence there is no reason to keep any of them in custody as most Red Star board members essential for the case and all the players whose transfers are being investigated have been heard," it said.

Dzajic’s lawyer, Milan Vujin, told Reuters: "Vladimir Cvetkovic and Milos Marinkovic are at home with their families while Dzajic will continue to undergo medical treatment in hospital.

"I expect the proceedings to continue with more witnesses and fresh evidence but the three will now be able to defend themselves as free men," he said.

HOSPITAL MOVE

Dzajic fell ill in custody and was transferred last month to hospital, where his detention was supervised by guards.

The arrests came shortly after Dzajic was named FSS vice-president by the body’s former chief Zvezdan Terzic, who was later himself charged with fraud.

Terzic stepped down after the affair and remains at large after Serbian police issued a warrant for his arrest.

Dzajic, Marinkovic and Cvetkovic have been accused of skimming money off the transfers of former Red Star players to foreign clubs and forging documents for that purpose.

Police said shortly after their arrest they had generated an illegal profit of more than six million euros from the transfer of striker Goran Drulic to Spanish club Real Zaragoza.

One of the transfers being looked at is that of Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic when he moved from Red Star to his former club Spartak Moscow in 2004.

Also under inquest are the transfers of Perica Ognjenovic to Real Madrid in 1999 and Zoran Njegus to city rivals Atletico in 1998.