By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague clubs held a meeting Monday and voted for a change in the return to play protocol, as prior reported by Eurohoops.
More precisely, the change includes a shortened quarantine period, reduced from 14 to 7 days for vaccinated players, in accordance with the local authorities’ regulations, as EuroLeague informed Tuesday. The protocol remains at 14 days for unvaccinated and non-exempted players.
In a meeting held on January 3, 2022, Turkish Airlines EuroLeague participating clubs agreed on applying the following modifications, which have been ratified by the ECA Shareholders Executive Board, to the Special Regulations due to COVID-19 and to the Health & Safety Protocols.
2021-22 Euroleague Basketball Health & Safety Protocols:
• Return to Play Protocol for vaccinated players to be shortened in time, from 14 to 7 days, provided that it is in line with local authorities’ regulations. This follows the trend of shortening quarantine/isolation periods that has already been applied in several EuroLeague territories. Current PCR, antibody and other medical testing that needs to be performed before a player receives clearance to play continues to be applied. Return to Play Protocol for unvaccinated and non-exempted players to remain at 14 days.
Euroleague Basketball Special Regulations due to Covid-19 (2021-22 Bylaws):
• Article 2 of the Special Regulations to be modified, adding the following: Should national/local regulations impose restrictions to the travelling and/or participation in a game of unvaccinated players, said player will be considered as available for the minimum number of eight players.
With EuroLeague and EuroCup team staff currently at 93% and 94% of vaccinated individuals, the modification will reduce the impact of an individual’s decision on the leagues’ game scheduling, as well as minimize the impact of such decisions on the home team.
The proposed modifications respond to the increased number of infected individuals across the league and the reported evolution of such cases. The analysis performed by the league’s medical officers has shown that while the spread of the virus has accelerated over the least weeks due to the new variant, the severity of the cases and recovery times have been greatly reduced.
The modifications to the H&SP will be applied to both the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup with immediate effect and aim at protecting and promoting the regularity and fairness of the competitions. The modification to the Special Regulations will be proposed to the ECA Shareholders General Assembly for formal approval.
The clubs also agreed to explore additional testing measures related to return to play and to pre-game protocols, modifications to the player registration deadlines, as well as shortening the Return to Play Protocol for non-vaccinated individuals, which will be reviewed by the relevant Euroleague Basketball bodies.