“They release” Motieyounas Fenerbahce-Efes: “We never agreed to return to Israel”

Fenerbahce and Anatolou Efes with a joint announcement they separate their position from the Euroleague which announced the return of Israel’s teams to the country from December 1.

The two Turkish teams make it clear that there was never a vote on the matter and emphasize that they openly expressed their concern about whether the conditions exist for Maccabi and Hapoel to return to Tel Aviv. Essentially, therefore, they “empty” the CEO of the Euroleague, Paulius Motiegiounas, whose position is said to be extremely precarious due to the dissatisfaction of several teams.

The joint announcement of Fener and Efes in detail:

There are reports in the EuroLeague that Israeli teams may play their home games in Israel again from December 1, 2025.

In the informal meeting held by the EuroLeague management on October 21, 2025, discussions were held regarding the matches of the Israeli teams.

Although EuroLeague’s post-meeting press release and EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiegounas’ statements to the press stated that all members had acted by unanimous consent during the decision-making process, no vote was taken at the meeting. Only a decision was made to monitor the matter. Anadolu Efes Sports Club and Fenerbahce Beko expressed their negative views on the matter and openly expressed their concerns about the possible outcome should the decision be made.

Our discussions on this matter with the relevant government bodies and EuroLeague management are ongoing. Any developments will be communicated to the public. We present this information to basketball fans.