MADRID, 9 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
BC Partizan Belgrade has ended its 2021/2022 season, after announcing that it will withdraw from the ‘playoffs’ for the Serbian league title after the incidents that occurred during the Adriatic League final series against Red Star.
“Despite the claims of Red Star and Partizan, the five games were full of incidents that put the safety of the players and coaches at risk. Those incidents led to the partial and total closure of the pavilion, numerous fines and the embarrassment of basketball. region and Serbia in front of the whole world,” explained Partizan this Thursday in a statement.
The Serbian team stressed that throughout the series both its president, Ostoja Mijailovic, and its coach, Zeljko Obradovic, publicly criticized “irresponsible individual behavior in the stands”, but that these messages “were not fruitful”.
For this reason, and to try to give an exemplary message, the Belgrade team does not want to be part “of the ‘hooligans’ festivals, regardless of whether they are fans of Red Star or Partizan”, and they want to prevent a new derby from the Serbian capital turns into “another battlefield for thugs destroying” the sport and “sending another terrible message to the world”.
Partizan encourages “everyone” to leave the court “for important things” and to “sit down and fix all your problems before the start of the next season because it’s the only way forward”. “Our wish is that Belgrade and Serbia have two representatives in the Euroleague. However, this type of behavior by a certain number of individuals and the missed opportunities to punish it do not allow us to be part of what we want,” said the champion of Europe of 1992.
The team trained by Obradovic reminds everyone that Serbia “is capable of organizing great sporting events” such as this season’s Euroleague Final Four, in which “there was not a single incident”. “We want to underline that in twenty years of participation in EuroLeague competitions we have not recorded incidents like those that occurred in the Adriatic League finals matches,” he stressed.
They also offer to do “everything they can” to solve some problems in Serbian basketball. “Our idea is to return the league to the federation, which can guarantee the same conditions for all teams. Equality is a good basis to reduce tensions and that everyone takes care of basketball,” he warned.
“This is a unique position within the club, supported by all its members: board, president, coaching staff and players. Partizan will continue its participation in the Adriatic League and EuroLeague competitions, there are no intentions to participate in other leagues,” concluded.