By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Crvena Zvezda mts president Nebojsa Covic opened up about the relationship with Partizan NIS and the impact of the Belgrade rival returning to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, the behavior of fans in Serbia, the reaction of Partizan following the AdmiralBet ABA League Finals, and more topics in a television interview to Sportal Jutro.
“Unfortunately, we have been dealing with such an environment,” he described after listing multiple preceding troubling incidents, “We all have to work together to stop this. I believe that the state is better equipped to eliminate these situations. And from there us and the league officials.”
Partizan receiving a wildcard to play in EuroLeague was discussed as a huge upgrade for basketball in his country. “I am genuinely very happy,” Covic mentioned.
“We have been advocating for this for the last five or six years. Having two teams is great but is unlikely to reduce tensions,” he explained and went on to stress the need for adjustments in regulations and tackle hooliganism, “Those issues, we must take measures on how to deal with incidents.”
In the aftermath of the ABA League Finals, Partizan opted to withdraw its participation in the Serbian league Playoffs in hope of changing the environment of the Belgrade derby. Partizan was in danger of being relegated at the domestic level but multiple fines were the sanctions decided by Basketball Federation of Serbia, KSS.
“Uncommon? Disrespecting the league and the country that provides financial support,” Covic commented, “That is called uncommon. Great. Let’s see what are the rules. If the rules are not followed then other teams will have the right to behave in the same way. You can guess the rest.”
Covic, 64, confirmed disagreeing with KSS on multiple issues and also talked about the possibility of Zvezda players becoming available for the Serbia national team in FIBA’s winter international windows. And shared his take on the current state of Euroleague Basketball.
“I would be very pleased if Dejan Bodiroga is assigned a position,” he discussed rumors regarding potential Euroleague Basketball leadership changes, “However, he was not part of the discussions in the latest ECA General Assembly. We were present via Zoom but did not vote on anything. This topic is not open. There is some turmoil in Euroleague, why should we hide it. We will see where and how it goes.”
“I sincerely hope for the benefit of European basketball that FIBA and Euroleague finally come to an agreement,” he added, “And I sincerely hope that FIBA becomes the real umbrella organization of basketball globally.”
Answering questions on raising the budget and strengthening the squad reached the head-coaching change with Vlada Jovanovic arriving to replace Dejan Radonjic and incoming and outgoing players. Avoiding commenting on recent rumors, he also skipped a question about Pablo Laso denying any contact.
“We always aim for the maximum, winning the Radivoj Korac Cup, the ABA League, and the KLS,” he said on next season’s goals, “Making the Playoffs is the realistic target. Whoever says he does not want to win EuroLeague would be ridiculous and saying we will definitely win the EuroLeague is even more ridiculous. Sports are sports and a ball is a ball, it is round.”
Photo Credit: ABA-liga.com