Why the Spaniards shout for the Olympiacos-Baskonia referees

With the final matchday of the EuroLeague just around the corner, the tension has reached “red”.

One of the most important games of the 34th round, is the one between Olympiakou and Baskonia at SEF (13/4, 21:00). Which will possibly decide both the first place from the “red and white” side, and the qualification for the Basques.

The latter, however, reacted strongly by the referees who were chosen to officiate the SEF match. In particular, complaints center on its definition Gitis Villius. The reason is that the Baskonia is fighting for the qualification with the Zalgirisand the Spaniards fear that a Lithuanian referee will wrong the team of Juan Peñaroja so as to increase the chances of his… “compatriots”.

However, the Euroleague’s reaction to the complaints was immediate, with an announcement that clarifies the process of selecting the referees.

“The referees are appointed with the criteria of not having a referee of the same nationality of any club or a referee from the national organization of that club. In addition, the primary criterion when appointing referees in both the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup is to select the best possible crew for each game. Euroleague referees are widely recognized for the highest level of professionalism and refereeing in Europe, following one of the most sophisticated training programs in the world, and the selection process for joining this group is extremely demanding in terms of integrity, ability and the ability to improve as the game progresses”the Euroleague Basketball announcement specifically explained.