By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With everyone already preparing for the inevitable and the discussion about the Russian clubs already moved to what may happen next season, EuroLeague is expected to announce tomorrow that the Russian clubs (CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg, UNICS Kazan in the EuroLeague and Lokomotiv Kuban in the EuroCup) are officially out of the competition.
With the date of the 21st of March marked as the last in which realistically the Russian clubs could return to the competitions after their games being suspended since the 28th of February, the 13 clubs-shareholders of ECA are expected to ratify via vote the decision to expel the Russian clubs for the 2021-22 season.
There’s an ongoing invasion of Ukraine and no signs of a swift resolution of the conflict making the voting at this point a formality. The decision is already taken and EuroLeague during the last two weeks has already added on their official website the alternative standings table without the Russian clubs included. The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings without Russian teams are currently the following.
| Position | Club | GP | Won | Lost | PTS+ | PTS- | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
FC BARCELONA | 24 | 19 | 5 | 1946 | 1778 | 168 | |
|
2
|
REAL MADRID | 24 | 18 | 6 | 1843 | 1727 | 116 | |
|
3
|
OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS | 25 | 17 | 8 | 1983 | 1807 | 176 | |
|
4
|
AX ARMANI EXCHANGE MILANO | 23 | 16 | 7 | 1700 | 1611 | 89 | |
|
5
|
ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL | 23 | 13 | 10 | 1899 | 1802 | 97 | |
|
6
|
FC BAYERN MUNICH | 22 | 12 | 10 | 1648 | 1634 | 14 | |
|
7
|
MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV | 22 | 11 | 11 | 1744 | 1765 | -21 | |
|
8
|
AS MONACO | 24 | 11 | 13 | 1978 | 1948 | 30 | |
|
9
|
CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS BELGRADE | 24 | 11 | 13 | 1733 | 1760 | -27 | |
|
10
|
BITCI BASKONIA VITORIA-GASTEIZ | 25 | 10 | 15 | 1875 | 1967 | -92 | |
|
11
|
FENERBAHCE BEKO ISTANBUL | 22 | 9 | 13 | 1649 | 1645 | 4 | |
|
12
|
ALBA BERLIN | 22 | 9 | 13 | 1664 | 1761 | -97 | |
|
13
|
LDLC ASVEL VILLEURBANNE | 24 | 7 | 17 | 1731 | 1902 | -171 | |
|
14
|
ZALGIRIS KAUNAS | 25 | 7 | 18 | 1849 | 1993 | -144 | |
|
15
|
PANATHINAIKOS OPAP ATHENS | 23 | 6 | 17 | 1699 | 1841 | -142 |
No decision is expected to be taken about the future of the Russian clubs in the competition until this summer and it has to be noted that the case of CSKA Moscow is more than complicated. The Russian club is a shareholder in the joint venture between EuroLeague and IMG and on paper, there’s no way for their license to be suspended.
Still, with the relationship between Russia and Western Countries being on an all-time low, nothing can be taken for granted.