By Aris Barkas
It was expected and today it was announced. Panathinaikos is sanctioned by the Euroleague’s independent disciplinary judge with a fine of 88.001 euros “for conduct detrimental to the competition on the part of the club’s fans at Game 5 of the Euroleague playoffs on Thursday, April 5 at OAKA”, as the official press release writes.
But this is no the end of the text, that uses harsh language against the Greens: “Panathinaikos is urged by the disciplinary judge to carry out the necessary measures in order to ensure order and security within its sports facilities for the next seasons. Should incidents keep occurring during the next seasons, the Disciplinary Judge will seriously and much earlier consider the possibility to impose sanctions other than fines”.
What that sanction could be? There is no precedent and until now Euroleague’s judge only punishment is fines, but this may be changed because the new motto and the final sentence of the press release is: “We will have zero tolerance toward violence in Euroleague arenas”. Panathinaikos reaction came through the team’s legal representative Michalis Dimitripoulos who said that he will appeal the fine.