By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following the initial reaction of the General Secretary of the Swedish Basketball Federation Fredrik Joulamo, the SBBF suspended Jonas Jerebko from the Sweden national team, as announced Thursday morning.
One of his main sponsors swiftly terminated the relationship as Jerebko joined CSKA Moscow during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in Eastern Europe. His decision was met with widespread criticism in Sweden. On its part, the Federation contacted Jerebko, as previously noted by Joulamo. “Unfortunately, we are forced to state that there are no conditions for Jonas Jerebko to play for the Sweden basketball national team,” concludes the press release.
The national team’s schedule includes a couple of summer 2023 FIBA World Cup European Group C Qualifiers fixtures. Sweden will take on Finland and Slovenia.
Once again condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Swedish Basketball Federation also explained that all players, including Jerebko, shared messages for peace in the recent home game versus Croatia. In addition, SBBF ran a fundraiser to help victims of the war and supports FIBA’s decision to eliminate Russia from all tournaments.
After Euroleague Basketball decided to remove all four Russian teams from the 2021-22 editions of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup, CSKA has been playing only in the VTB United League. Jerebko’s contract will run through the remainder of the season.
The Swedish power forward returned to Europe after a lengthy NBA run. He logged 683 games played between the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, and Golden State Warriors before moving to Khimki Moscow Region. He left the Russian team midway through the 2020-21 season and since remained inactive at the club level.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL