By Stefan Djordjevic/ sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
The crisis between Russia and Ukraine resulted in a war and although sports are far from important amidst such an incident that will cause global consequences, it cannot be denied that basketball is also heavily affected and Euroleague might be the main ‘front’ when it comes to stances and decisions form various parties.
Everybody is expected to take a stance. Not only is Euroleague considered the top level of European basketball but it has three Russian teams among its ranks.
Starting with the long-standing powerhouse CSKA Moscow whose historical name (Central Sports Club of the Army) and the nickname ‘Army Men’ will already make them ‘enemy number one’ in many eyes.
Additionally, Zenit Saint Petersburg and UNICS Kazan are also in the competition this season, and all three teams are having solid years standing-wise, holding spots in the playoff zone.
Leaving the political and ethical mindset aside for the moment and looking purely at the organizational and safety elements, the competition will still likely be forced to make changes.
Organizational hardship
The main issue is, of course, the games that are supposed to be played on Russian soil. While the cities of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Kazan are not that close to the border with Ukraine (Moscow the closest with more than 700 km of distance), the fact remains that a war has broken out and a tragic and instant development could happen at any given time.
Whether it’s a further escalation territorially, the involvement of other parties in the war, or, which is even likely to happen, the disruption (or complete stop) of flights to and from Russia, there are many factors that can impact the competition.
And while the Euroleague in some part will probably try to guarantee the safety for all sides during the travel and the games, that might not be enough to convince the teams of going through with the schedule as it is, especially once the players share their concerns.
In fact, that has already started happening. Barcelona is scheduled to play two games in Russia by the end of the week. On February 25th against Zenit in Saint Petersburg and, on February 27th, against CSKA in Moscow.
The Spaniards were supposed to travel today (February 24th) but decided to put the trip on hold. Additionally, Barca players Alex Abrines and Brandon Davies shared a few words each via Twitter. Abrines voiced his reluctance to travel to Russia while Davies warned about the serious consequences that the war brings.
The team will make the final decision after a series of meetings, internally and externally. ‘The big meeting’ is planned for tomorrow (February 25th) when the 18 Euroleague clubs will meet remotely to discuss the whole situation and the future course of action.
Sanctions, boycotts, and potential breakdown
However, some decisions might have to be made even sooner, as not only the games on Russian soil are in danger, but the other way around as well. And some have already been made.
CSKA was scheduled to play in Germany tonight (February 24th) against Bayern Munich but even that turned out troublesome, forcing Euroleague to react and postpone the game.
The German television had announced that it will not broadcast the game while also Bayern requested of Euroleague to postpone the match. Apparently, per reports, both teams were in the city and preparing for the matchup as usual.
As a precautionary measure, Euroleague also suspended the other two games of Russian teams as well, at the very least until the 18-club meeting.
And that case might make a perfect transition into the final and perhaps most important issue. ‘Sanctions’ against Russia through the sport. It is unavoidable that, even if Euroleague makes the unlikely decision to continue as if nothing has happened, not all teams will abide by that.
There will be decisions by televisions not to broadcast the games, by individual teams not to play out the games against Russian teams, and, worst-case scenario, there might even be teams willing to leave the Euroleague if the situation happens to get out of control completely.
A big influence on the whole matter will be made by Zalgiris Kaunas. Coming from Lithuania, a Baltic country, Zalgiris is closer to the whole situation both physically (bordering with Belarus and Kaliningrad) and historically (occupied by the Soviet Union, first to proclaim independence).
The team has already made its stance clear and sent a message of support to the Ukrainians. But not only that. Zalgiris officially announced they’re boycotting the rest of the Euroleague away games in Russia this season and will also offer that idea to the rest of the teams.
Zalgiris is scheduled to play against CSKA on March 25th and against Zenit on April 8th.
And that hasn’t been the stance of Zalgiris only. The Lithuanian Basketball Federation also announced its view of the situation and asked its members to terminate all sports contacts with Russian and Belarusian sports entities in the near future.
The Latvian Federation also followed the same course of action while a representative of Estonia, BC Kalev/Cramo, made officially the decision to leave the VTB United League, a domestic league that includes teams from the Baltics and Russia. The stance of all three Baltic countries seems to be clear and in unison.
The situation is dire in its entirety and all that remains is for the Euroleague members to listen to each other’s words and reach a solution that would allow everybody to get over the crisis.
However, that might mean a huge hit to the competition that has also seen its fair share of troubles in the past few years due to COVID-19.
Russian clubs out of the picture (for now)
While the initial plan by EuroLeague and the 18 clubs was to move the home games of CSKA, Unics and Zenit to other countries (with Belgrade, Serbia being the favorite city to host these matches),the organization took an unprecedented decision some days later.
On February 28, it was officially announced that the participation of CSKA Moscow, Unics Kazan and Zenit St. Petersburg in EuroLeague, as well as the participation of Lokomotiv Kuban in EuroCup is being indefinitely suspended. If the war is ongoing, then EuroLeague may very well completely annul the season for Russian teams.
“Sports is not politics and should not be interfered in by politics, but we cannot remain passive when witnessing such a terrible social crisis with so much suffering of innocent people and, at the same time, seeing the support that our communities all across Europe have clearly expressed towards the Ukrainian population,” said EuroLeague CEO Jordi Bertomeu. ” I want to make clear that we are not blaming our Russian clubs, their management or team staff for any of these developments.”
In the meantime, Russian clubs have been facing a wave of departures following the Ukraine invasion with no contract terminations, as of now. CSKA saw Tornike Shengelia, Marius Grigonis, Iffe Lundberg, Johannes Voigtmann and Joel Bolomboy leaving Moscow while Unics and Zenit also gave permission to their non-Russian players to depart amid the current situation.