By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With a post on his official Facebook page, Fenerbahce forward and Italian national team captain Gigi Datome announced that he won’t play for the “Azzurri” in the World Cup Qualifiers and explained why he came to this decision.
Datome says that the FIBA Windows throughout a season are a “bad idea” and that his commitments with Fenerbahce (which doesn’t prevent him from playing for Italy) don’t allow him to skip EuroLeague games which could prove to be decisive in the long run.
“FIBA (which earns money from the Qualifiers) organizes the windows where players (who aren’t paid unless they have a deal with their federations) should skip matches with the team that pays them”, writes Datome.
“This is the first time I turn down playing for the national team in my life,” he says. explaining the reasons he chose to write a lengthy post to announce his decision.
“Noone asked me or my teammates in Fenerbahce what we think on this formula (schedule)”, he adds. “Players need to be involved. Not to decide but perhaps give a feedback on future programs.”
“Basketball should always offer the best possible product to attract new and old fans. Without the best players (NBA and EuroLeague), this won’t happen. This is not good for basketball. It’s a result of a war for power, which only hurts the fans and at this point even the players who are in the middle of two sides and have to choose between their national teams and their club.”
“Madness,” Datome concludes.