By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season is expected to tip-off as scheduled on the 1st of October and on Thursday the terms and conditions for the 2020-21 campaign will be discussed, approved, and announced.
EuroLeague has already tackled the financial issues of the upcoming season, however in the age of the coronavirus health is the main concern.
And while on the matter of fans being present on the gyms, EuroLeague is obliged to follow the decision of local authorities, the clubs must take specific measures concerning their players, and also their assembly must approve the protocols that should be followed if there’s a COVID case in their rosters.
On top of that, traveling in and out of specific European countries is an issue that may create scheduling difficulties, as it has already happened with Panathinaikos opting out of the Gomelsky Cup in Moscow. And also that’s why there are no Turkish or Russian teams involved in the two tournaments of the EuroLeague pre-season tour.
The voyage to Turkey and Russia, which have in total five teams in the competition, can be problematic until further notice due to local authorities’ COVID-related restrictions.
However, the general belief is that the season will start as planned, even if there are currently scenarios on the table that include “relocation and postponement of games if necessary due to travel restrictions”, as Eurohoops sources have confirmed.
Still, the main issue that the clubs must decide upon is the rules which will apply if there’s a COVID infection in a team. With the current set of rules, if a team does not have enough players due to any illness or injuries, the game should be played no matter what. To be exact, a minimum of eight healthy players is needed per team in order to have a EuroLeague game.
With the teams expected to take at least one COVID test per week, one scenario that may be approved is the following: if there are three players who tested positive, three days before the game, then all the team will be tested again two days before the contest.
If they have enough healthy players after the new results, then the game will not be postponed. The key here is the word “enough” and it remains to be seen which will be the number of COVID cases that may force a game to be postponed.
Of course, players who have tested positive have to be quarantined and after two negative tests, they will be cleared to resume action.
It’s obvious that the shadow of COVID will lurk upon the 2020-21 season, but everyone involved agrees that basketball should return and there are safe ways for this to happen.