The organization made a very tough decision about the future of the four teams that compete in the Euroleague and Eurocup.
The Euroleague took drastic measures around the war between Russia and Ukraine and decided to suspend the Russian teams from international competitions. So much so that CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg and UNICS Kazan will no longer play the EuroLeague, while Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar was separated from the EuroCup.
This measure will be implemented until further notice, as long as the situation between Russia and Ukraine improves considerably, a conflict that has kept the entire world on edge for weeks.
Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu wrote a public letter in which he stated: “I want to make it clear that we do not blame our Russian clubs, their management or team personnel for any of these events. Unfortunately, the seriousness of the situation has left us with no choice but to suspend all matches involving Russian teams, at least for the time being, and hope that this situation ends as soon as possible.”
Full statement:
The ECA, meeting remotely on Monday, February 28, has made the following decisions regarding the war in Ukraine:
1. Suspend the participation of teams from the Russian Federation in both the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (CSKA Moscow, UNICS Kazan, Zenit St Petersburg) and the 7DAYS EuroCup (Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar).
2. Euroleague Basketball will continue to monitor the evolution of the situation. In the event that the situation does not evolve favourably, all regular season matches against Russian teams will be canceled in order to set up the league standings.
The Euroleague and its clubs reiterate their firm commitment to peace, against any act of violence or war, and will continue to use their voice to promote respect, inclusion and diversity, values that are at the core of the organization and their teams.
