By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The EuroLeague A-License clubs signed a joined statement in which they condemn Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos for his recent actions, citing the “multiple attacks” and a ” deplorable behavior” that is “totally contrary to the ethical principles and values of sport.”
Moreover, the 10 clubs “together with the President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball have given instructions to their legal advisors to initiate judicial procedures against Mr. Dimitris Giannakopoulos“. So it seems that everything will end not on the basketball court, but on a court of law.
The announcement is as follows:
The multiple attacks that Mr. Dimitris Giannakopoulos has been making in recent weeks, with which he has gravely offended individuals, groups and Euroleague Basketball itself, has led to all Euroleague Commercial Assets Shareholders Executive Board (ECA Board) member clubs other than Panathinaikos Athens to evaluate the situation amongst themselves and with the management of the competition. After a thorough assessment, all 10 clubs* unanimously share the following position:
1. They reiterate that the behavior of Mr. Giannakopoulos is totally contrary to the ethical principles and values of sport, in particular going against the principle of respect, which is the cornerstone of relations between members of a sporting community. As such, the ECA Board will adopt the appropriate regulatory measures to assure that this person cannot be involved in any activity of Euroleague Basketball until this behavior has completely and definitively ceased. The use of denigratory statements or constant public pressure and verbal aggression in an attempt to influence the sports results and to attack the competition, its members, and directors, has no place in a professional league. A professional league that the clubs have been building over the years and that, at this moment, is offering fans the best basketball competitions in European history.
2. The other 10-member clubs of the ECA Board together with the President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball have given instructions to their legal advisors to initiate judicial procedures against Mr. Dimitris Giannakopoulos with the purpose of repairing the damage that he has caused to the image, the honour, the integrity and the credibility of the competition, of the clubs, of the referees and of the competition’s management including the Euroleague Basketball President and CEO.
3. The 10 clubs as the ECA Board and the competition management reiterate their desire that Panathinaikos continues to form part of the top competition in European basketball. It is their strong belief that the club’s fans and history should not be prejudiced by the deplorable behavior of one person, nor should those fans see themselves deprived of enjoying the best basketball competition in Europe, to which their club belongs.
* ANADOLU EFES SPOR KULÜBÜ, CSKA PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL CLUB LLC, FC BARCELONA, FENERBAHÇE SPOR KULÜBÜ, MACCABI TEL AVIV BASKETBALL CLUB (1995) LTD, OLYMPIACOS SFP BASKETBALL S.A., PALLACANESTRO OLIMPIA MILANO S.S.R.L., REAL MADRID CLUB DE FÚTBOL, SASKI BASKONIA, S.A.D., VŠĮ ŽALGIRIO KREPŠINIO CENTRAS.
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