By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The intense feud between Euroleague and FIBA and the latter’s threats, has affected the ambitions of clubs, the registration of players and has frustrated the fans. Now… it creates an issue for…. European referees.
The field in which the new “skirmish” takes place, is on the ground of Eurocup. The national federations have asked referees from Turkey, Greece and Italy to not officiate in the second-tier European competition, under the threat of being banned from calling the shots in games of their domestic leagues.
While there are no teams from these countries in Eurocup, Turkish, Greek or Italian referees can still officiate in the matches. And this is why Euroleague has offered them a proposal/contract to carry their whistles in its competitions for the next three years. With this move, Euroleague basically guarantees the referees to still be a part of the top competitions in the continent, regardless of the decision by FIBA.
It all comes down to what the referees themselves will decide and, of course, how far will FIBA stretch the whole thing.