By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague announced the set of special regulations and health and safety protocols that will apply for the upcoming season and have to do with COVID-related difficulties.
It’s confirmed that games can be postponed and relocated, but no more than three postponements per contest are allowed and special regulations have been approved that lead to forfeiting games due to travel restrictions or COVID outbreaks.
Per the press release:
Following the work conducted by Euroleague Basketball in consultation with team doctors, medical experts, club executives, and other leading sports properties, and following discussions held among EuroCup and ECA Board representatives, new Health & Safety Protocols and Special Regulations for the 2020-21 season in both the 7DAYS EuroCup and the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague have been approved.
The Health & Safety Protocols, which aim at providing competition participants and all other stakeholders with minimum standards to be applied in every EuroLeague and EuroCup game, establishes conditions to protect every individual’s health as well as that of their families’ under the current COVID-19 environment. The protocols have been developed in coordination with league and club doctors, consulted with all 42 clubs, the EuroLeague Players Association, the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board, the Union of Euroleague Basketball Officials, Domestic Leagues and ULEB. They have been constructed to reflect the experience gained by other major international and domestic sports competition organizers. The details, among others, include:
• Basic hygiene rules of conduct: hands washing, social distancing, face mask usage and ventilation.
• Arena and practice facility guidelines establishing a maximum number of individuals in the playing court and locker room areas.
• Appointment of a COVID-19 manager in each club, educational sessions, recommended daily health monitoring, medical assessment forms.
• Players, coaching staff and referees to perform a PCR test three days ahead of every game, with protocols to follow in the case of a positive PCR test result.- Guidelines for hotels, transportation, referees, TV production, media and spectators.
The Health & Safety Protocols document is fluid and will be regularly reviewed and adapted to any potential evolution of the current situation.
The Special Regulations are set to maintain the regularity of the competitions as much as possible in order to deliver on the commitments to fans and commercial partners, and to protect all clubs by establishing a clear and equal framework to be applied to all of them in the special circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their content is the result of continuous communication and alignment of standards with other major European sports competition organizers. The Special Regulations, to be included in the 2020-21 competition bylaws, include, among others:
• Games that are precluded from taking place as scheduled due to new or existing restrictions being imposed on home or visiting clubs by their domestic authorities will be suspended and rescheduled. In such cases, the game may be relocated to an alternative venue, if necessary.
• Any particular game may be suspended a maximum of three times.
• All Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season games must have been played by 13 April 2021 and all Playoff games must be played by 5 May 2021
• All 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season games must have been played by 22 December 2020, and all Top16 games must be played by 23 February 2021
• Euroleague Basketball will cooperate with the home club to relocate any games to a suitable alternative arena that has been previously approved for the EuroLeague or EuroCup competition.
• In the event that no dates are available to reschedule a game, or that the maximum number of reschedules has been reached, the team whose national or local restrictions originated the relocation/rescheduling of the game will forfeit the game by the result of zero to twenty (0-20). Repeated 0-20 losses due to this situation would not lead to the disqualification of the team.
• In the event that any team has less than eight players fit to play due to COVID-19, said team will lose the game 0-20. Repeated 0-20 losses due to this situation would not entail the disqualification of the team.
• Any club refusing to play without any official national or local restrictions being in place (without any justified cause) will register a 0-20 loss on the first occasion, and the disqualification from the competition on the second, as per existing competition regulations. A 0-20 loss occurring during the EuroCup Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals, or during the EuroLeague Playoffs would entail the loss of the series by the relevant team.
• In the event of a season suspension, the provisional standings in place when the suspension occurred may be considered final either to resume the competition or for teams to progress to a potential next phase. If necessary, teams will play any remaining/postponed games to ensure number of games played is balanced among all teams in the same group
The Company will keep an updated list of existing authorities’ restrictions and approved available arenas at the disposal of all clubs, based on the information provided by these.