Relocating or suspending Russian teams? What we're hearing before the EuroLeague meeting / News - Basketnews.com

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Eighteen Turkish Airlines EuroLeague teams will discuss the potential strategic moves facing Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the urgent meeting on Friday.

2-pointers this season

52%19,8Points made:19,8Accuracy:51,7%Place in standings:8Record max:28Record min:11Most made 2FGs:John BrownTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

All three Round 27 games with Russian teams (CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg, UNICS Kazan) were suspended on Thursday, and the EuroLeague has to decide on further actions and possible sanctions.

The current political situation in Ukraine and its potential effect on the EuroLeague competitions will be analyzed at a videoconference that starts at 12:00 CET.

According to BasketNews sources, it doesn't look like all EuroLeague teams have a common ground to solve the situation, and the meeting might be unpredictable.

EuroLeague clubs expect a leadership example from Jordi Bertomeu and his team to set the tone for Friday's meeting for the rest of the league.

Most likely, EuroLeague will offer the solution to host Russian teams' home games at neutral arenas until the end of the season, sources say BasketNews.

"We won't go to Russia next week. I already said to the players and the staff that we won't make the trip", ASVEL Villeurbanne president Tony Parker said on Thursday. "This goes beyond sport. We cannot accept the situation, it's completely opposite to our values. Sending our team to Russia is absolutely out of the question".

As some BasketNews sources mentioned, EuroLeague will likely come out with the idea that sports should be kept separate from politics.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach Ergin Ataman also suggested the neutral arena's scenario after yesterday's win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

"We are a peaceful country, and I believe sports is a unifying force. I respect those players and teams who don't want to play in Russia. Maybe neutral courts can be assigned for an interim basis to find a solution. But a boycott or those sort of things solely addressed against the Russian clubs would be against the spirit of sports," he concluded.

CSKA Moscow / Schedule

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Due to international sanctions imposed on FR Yugoslavia, Partizan Belgrade played their home games in Fuenlabrada during the 1991-92 season. Partizan won the title that year under rookie head coach Zeljko Obradovic.

However, all Yugoslavian teams were later banned from international competitions for almost three years (1992-95).

According to BasketNews sources, Serbia is a theoretical destination for some Russian clubs' relocation.

On the other hand, there's always a question of what Russian authorities will think about such an idea, for example, moving CSKA from Moscow.

Zenit have six regular-season home games left on their schedule, while CSKA have five and UNICS have four. All three Russian clubs are currently ranked in the Top 8.

Ideologically this decision is not changing a lot, though.

If playing in Russia was the case, FC Bayern would have played against CSKA on Thursday in Munich. The German TV refused to broadcast this match on game day, therefore, Bayern requested the EuroLeague to suspend the game.

Zalgiris Kaunas owner Paulius Motiejunas also declared his drastic position on playing Russian clubs.

"Zalgiris will not go to Russia, where double matches of the season were supposed to be played. We will talk to the Western European clubs competing in the EuroLeague and offer to make a joint decision not only not to play the matches but also to boycott the games with all Russian teams," Motiejunas was quoted in an official press release.

Even though many sports organizations declared massive restrictions on Russian sports authorities, it would be a very bold move by the EuroLeague to suspend three successful Russian clubs, including ECA shareholder CSKA.

The history shows it's not the style of Jordi Bertomeu and this EuroLeague administration.

EuroLeague was always trying to avoid brave decisions on crunch time, dealing with first COVID-19 cases, game suspensions, season cancellation, or potential season continuation scenarios.

Also, a fact that a couple of main sponsors of the EuroLeague are Russian companies, such as Fedcom and VTB, should be taken into account.

Since the EuroLeague clubs still don't have a clear successor for Jordi Bertomeu, that's another chance for him to handle the situation on the MVP level and maybe increase his possibilities to save the job.

That's another critical day for the EuroLeague Basketball.

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