Olympiacos face game suspension for racial slurs against referee Joseph Bissang / News - Basketnews.com

French referee Joseph Bissang was subject to a racial attack by a fan during Olympiacos' home game against Valencia on Friday night. The Reds announced that the culprit has been found and banned from the stadium for life, but the club might still be sanctioned by the EuroLeague.

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou; Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou; Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Olympiacos Piraeus had a bad offensive night and suffered a 63-56 defeat by Valencia Basket at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Friday night.

Player of the Game EFF 16 Stefan Jovic Points 12 Accuracy 5-7 Rebounds 4 Assists 2

The Reds dropped to 7-7, after their fourth loss in as many home games against Spanish clubs. However, the contest was also marked by an incident that took place at a time when everything had already been decided.

With 26.1 seconds left on the game clock, and Valencia leading 60-53, referee Joseph Bisang interrupted the match and headed to the officials' table. The French referee, along with his colleague Sreten Radovic, was apparently annoyed by a racist slur thrown at him by a fan sitting in the court seats.

According to gazzetta's Konstantinos Melayess, Bissang asked to be written on the scoresheet that he was told "Go f-- yourself black monkey", which means that Olympiacos are in danger of playing one or several of their next home games behind closed doors.

The Greek club immediately reacted to the incident by initiating proceedings in order to trace the culprit. A couple of hours after the game was over, they announced that the fan in question was found and banned for life from the team's home games.

"Olympiacos BC is always against all forms and actions of racism," the announcement reads.

"For this reason, we strongly condemn today's verbal attack by the 'fan' of our team against one of the referees of the match. Finally, we announce that his season ticket is immediately removed and his entrance to the Peace and Friendship Stadium is banned forever."

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.