EuroLeague increases number of playoff referees: Panther and Ryzhyk not on list / News - Basketnews.com

Four referees will be making their EuroLeague playoff debuts: Jordi Aliaga (Spain), Ioannis Foufis (Greece), Rain Peerand (Estonia), and Arturas Sukys (Lithuania).

Credit: IMAGO/Nordphoto - Scanpix Credit IMAGO/Nordphoto - Scanpix

The EuroLeague has announced the 28 names of referees who are eligible for postseason games, an increase of 33% over the 21 officials who participated in playoff games last season and the most since 2015.

These 28 referees come from 15 different countries and have a combined 408 seasons' worth of experience in Euroleague Basketball competitions this century. Of the group, 24 have previous EuroLeague Playoffs experience.

Among these referees, four will be making their playoff debuts: Jordi Aliaga (Spain), Ioannis Foufis (Greece), Rain Peerand (Estonia), and Arturas Sukys (Lithuania).

The remaining 24 playoff officials involve Ilija Belosevic (Serbia), Matej Boltauzer (Slovenia), Mehdi Difallah (France), Juan Carlos Garia (Spain), Tomislav Hordov (Croatia), Damir Javor (Slovenia), Milivoje Jovcic (Serbia), Luka Kardum (Croatia), Milos Koljensic (Montenegro), Olegs Latisevs (Latvia), Robert Lottermoser (Germany), Emin Mogulkoc (Turkey), Milan Nedovic (Slovenia), Uros Nikolic (Serbia), Piotr Pastusiak (Poland), Carmelo Paternico (Italy), Miguel Perez (Spain), Emilio Perez (Spain), Carlos Peruga (Spain), Sasa Pukl (Slovenia), Sreten Radovic (Croatia), Fernando Rocha (Portugal), Gytis Vilius (Lithuania), and Jakub Zamojski (Poland).

While four referees are new to playoff officiating, there are three others returning for their first playoff experience since 2015, and two more who haven't seen postseason action since 2018-19.

Not included in this year's playoff list is Anne Panther from Germany, who has been a playoff referee since 2018 (her second season in the EuroLeague) and refereed in the EuroLeague Final Four in 2019 and last season, 2023.

Panther is one of two women officiating in the EuroLeague (along with Vasiliki Tsaroucha from Greece), and she has also been featured on numerous occasions by the EuroLeague in stories and documentaries highlighting her career as a role model for female referees and others to follow.

Another notable absence is Borys Ryzhyk from Ukraine, who boasts over two decades of EuroLeague experience, including 11 Final Fours (and the final game in 2022).

Despite being cleared of involvement in a betting scandal related to the 2021 Eurocup final, Ryzhyk was only nominated for EuroCup games following his reinstatement in January.

The upcoming playoff series are scheduled to start on Tuesday, April 23, with the potential for Game 5s extending until Wednesday, May 8.

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