By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Among the postponed ABA League games which were recovered last night, Partizan Belgrade beat Buducnost 83-82 on the road to secure first place in the standings and the playoff clash against the 8th seed SC Derby.
Their rivals Crvena Zvezda released a really rigid statement over the refereeing of the game, which saw Trae Bell-Haynes making an unintentional foul on Kevin Punter which gave the Partizan shooting guard the opportunity to win it all at the line.
“KK Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet is not in the habit of advertising after games in which it was not a direct participant, but since the late game played in Podgorica on Friday night directly affected the final outcome and schedule in the standings, and after another theft and robbery in the direction those who should only be part of the game, not the protagonists – we will not be silent”, the press release harshly opens.
“KK Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet believes that the audience of millions on Friday night in the hall of SC “Morača” saw another episode and a kind of replay of what was already seen on March 13 in the Belgrade Arena. And that is creating the ultimate outcome for those who don’t play those games. This has taken another step towards the complete destruction of the regularity of the league under the direction of the referees, who, by chance or not, always come from the same country in controversial matches”, the statement continues.
Then, the red-and-white team, which will now face 7th seed Zadar in the ABA League playoffs, went on to ask about the suspension of the refereeing trio. “Since we no longer need a single indicator of what awaits us in the finals of the ABA league, especially with people who have long shown a tendency towards KK Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, and since we will not participate in directed plays and farces, we hereby inform the public and the league management that KK Crvena Zvezda demands the suspension of such referees in their matches until the end of this competitive season. Also, since in the past, we very well-intentionally warned the league leadership, which silently observed and remained silent about all the anomalies in this matter, we hereby announce that we will not play games in the playoffs and finals (if we reach it) if for any match we have delegated judges like these who have been working to the detriment of the ABA league for years! Which is a lot – it’s a lot, and now it really exceeded all measures!”, the press release added.
PHOTO CREDIT: ABA League