By Niki Bakouli/ bakouli@eurohoops.net
The war of Panathinaikos and Euroleague just got the one other level. Euroleague published a letter send by CEO Jordi Bertomeu to Panathinaikos president Dimitris Giannakopoulos.
The text is the following: “Mr. President, I have to express my concern about the repeated incidents by the public in the games that your team plays. In the past, these types of incidents have led to several sanctions and have cast a negative light on our sport. Unfortunately, in the last few days the media are publishing statements from you and other Panathinaikos representatives that are likely to create an aggressive environment in the next games. Our obligation, and yours, is to avoid this situation at all costs. For this reason, I request that you take all necessary organisational and security measures to avoid any incidents in the remaining Play offs games. I also request that protection and respect are guaranteed for players, coaches, referees, management and fans”.
As you can understand this is a polite but firm reaction to what Giannakopoulos said after Tuesday’s game against Barcelona and the latest episode of the ongoing problematic relatioship between the two parts, but also have to do with an official complain of CSKA Moscow to the league. The Russians are protesting about bottles being thrown in their bench at the end of the Last16 game at OAKA. According to Eurohoops sources, CSKA Moscow is asking for PAO to be punished by playing his remaining home games of the season without spectators.
UPDATE: Just minutes after the letter of Bertomeu, Panathinaikos reacted with a press release leaving many innuendos for Euroleague and CSKA Moscow: “Until know we believed that basketball is played on the court between the lines. We were also sure that teams are playing with five players each (and not 5 against 8 ) and that the league authorities were independent. CSKA Moscow, however, seems, to subsitute them, instruct them and ask them officially to ban spectators from the the home court of Panathinaikos and also demands for the future games in Athens between the two teams to be played without fans. Maybe we should leave the league? Unfortunately for you we will stay and we will be constantly in front of you. We are asking only for transparency, equality and application of the same criteria. We never asked if the money circulating is white, yellow or black (ed. note: meaning of product of tax evasion in Greek), not were they come from. Nothing. The only thing we demand is RESPECT to the biggest club which won six manly Euroleague trophies. Also, after the unprecedented behaviour of the Russian club and its president Andrey Vatutin, his counterpart Dimitris Giannakopoulos when he learned his actions, stated: “If doesn’t Vatutin doesn’t like to visit us again, then it’s ok. After all he is unwanted in Athens”. PS. We have the greatest respect for Barcelona and any other team invests legally on the court and we clarify the fact that we have no quarrel with the Spanish club”.