Crvena Zvezda release a statement regarding Sunday's events in Kaunas / News - Basketnews.com

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Following Sunday's EuroLeague match where Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade players refused to hold the 'Stop the War' flag alongside Zalgiris Kaunas players before the match and the subsequent events that followed during the match, Crvena Zvezda have released an official statement.

Player of the Game EFF 26 Lukas Lekavičius Points 17 Accuracy 5-11 Rebounds 2 Assists 7

Full Crvena Zvezda statement (unedited):

KK Crvena Zvezda mts, in order to prevent any speculations and politicizing the gestures of our players before the game in Kaunas and basketball in general, is forced to announce all events during the remaining game of the 21st Round of the EuroLeague against Zalgiris in Kaunas.

KK Crvena Zvezda as a sports club and a representative of the Republic of Serbia, which took a clear position on the conflict in Ukraine, and follows the official positions of our country, in official communication with the Euroleague and Zalgiris leaders, made it clear a few days before the match in Lithuania of not wanting to allow politicization and to not wanting to carry a banner in the colors of the flag of any country and to not wanting to participate in the manipulation and politicization of one of the most humane and universal slogans "STOP WAR".

Boththe players and the professional staff of the Crvena Zvezda BC followed and acted in accordance with the decision of the highest bodies of the club that made such a decision, including the first team player of our club Aaron White, who without objections obeyed the club's decision and showed by his example.

That is why, with this announcement, KK Crvena Zvezda defends its player who unjustifiably came under attack from the public,because he stands for the same values ​​as the club whose colors he wears, and that is peace, end of this war and suffering of innocent civilians and children!The case of Aaron White, who also played for Zalgiris (who abused this situation as a club) and currently plays for the Red Star, shows all the absurdity and severity of the situation we all found ourselves in, but also the danger of political interference in sports!

Zalgiris Kaunas / Schedule

Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz Zalgiris Kaunas96-79 Zalgiris Kaunas Crvena Zvezda Belgrade103-98 Zenit Saint Petersburg Zalgiris KaunasFri17:00

That is why we appeal to all Zvezda players not to condemn Aaron White and not interfere in politics (and relations they may not understand), but to support him as an athlete, a Red Star player who has been behaving like a top professional since coming to our club, and who stood by his team unquestioningly on Sunday night and did what many in his (specific) situation would not do!

To our great regret, our request not to wear a banner that is not neutral was not granted (whether under someone's pressure), and everything after that was a political performance and not a sport, and seriously violated the basic principles of EuroLeague and basketball!

KK Crvena Zvezda cannot interpret the chanting "Fuck you Serbia" differently, attack and expel Crvena Zvezda fans just because they carried the flag of our country, take away the flag of the Republic of Serbia which is a sovereign state, display the NATO flag (which in our country from already known reasons and NATO aggression is a provocation) and the promotion of the slogan "Glory to Ukraine", which in our country has a completely different historical connotation and meaning!

Should we ask ourselves today, 2022, why in 1999, during the NATO aggression and the killing of thousands of innocent civilians and children, while the Zalgiris basketball players won this competition, they did not carry the banner "Stop the aggression against Yugoslavia"?

Following yesterday's events, can the Crvena Zvezda BC now rightly demand that all players in the Belgrade match carry a "Kosovo is Serbia"banner in order to further internationalize the problem of trying to seize our southern province and 17 percent of the territory of the Republic of Serbia??

KK Crvena Zvezda has always tried to be a good host to visiting clubs and to protect them from any politicization, but also to promote peace, which we have confirmed in several games since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine by wearing banners with anti-war messages!

That is why we now have every moral and other right to expect the EuroLeague to react urgently, initiate disciplinary proceedings and adequately sanction this violation of the basic principles and Bylaws of the EuroLeague, and punish those responsible for politicized and obviously prepared incidents and harassing our team, our fans and insulting our country and our club in Kaunas.

Otherwise, the door opens and opportunities for all participants in EuroLeague competitions to use their matches to promote politics, their problems and dissatisfactions, and not sports.It is clear what it leads to…

Regardless of all the events in Kaunas, the Crvena Zvezda will continue to promote the true values ​​of basketball and the competitions in which it participates.

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