By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With AEK leaving Eurocup and explaining why the club arrived to this decision, Eurohoops contacted Euroleague seeking their reaction.
The position of the Eurocup organizers is the following, according to a high ranking Euroleague official: “We can only respect AEK’s decision, but we are saddened that this does not respond to a free decision according to their interests, but this change responds to the threats and pressure applied by the Greek Federation, as we have been informed by the club. These threats and pressures have forced a club to take a decision contrary to their legitimate interests, and proves once again the profile and mondus operandi of FIBA and the national federations”.
In the case of AEK, despite the club being considered a company according to Greek law, the federation denied its right to registred players in the professional Greek league, because FIBA has not yet a clear position on the matter. This practically demonstrates that basketball around Europe still has a long way to go in order to became a real profesional sport.