Bertomeu: “We cannot play any later than the end of July”
President of the EuroLeague, Jordi Bertomeu, confirmed that a Final Eight format could be used to complete the 2019/2020 season, while admitting that the campaign needs to end no later than the end of July.
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On March 12, the EuroLeague ground to a sharp halt ahead of round 29, with the coronavirus pandemic preventing the regular season from continuing. Taking into account the logistical problem of several borders being closed, the likelihood of completing the season in full is somewhat slim, especially given that six rounds of the regular season, the playoffs and the Final Four still need to be played.
However, during a video conference on Thursday, Bertomeu once again reinstated his desire to successfully complete the campaign once the authorities issue the green light.
"We want to finish in the current format,”revealed Bertomeu. “So, we want to keep the regular season, playing six remaining rounds. We want to play playoffs and the Final Four. And we have a protocol ready that includes: three days for players to go back to their cities; two weeks quarantine; and at least two weeks training before the start of the competition.”
Nevertheless, at the same time, Bertomeu did admit that an alternative plan of staging a Final Eight is being considered: “We also need to anticipate that perhaps we cannot keep the current format. This is a possibility. We are a European competition and we have more constraints than domestic leagues. I think this is obvious. Therefore, we are working on an alternative plan that includes resuming the regular season in a country with a facility ready for our games, and probably to substitute the playoffs for a Final Eight that will replace as well the Final Four. But the most important condition will be to have guarantees for the health of our teams."
Previous reports had suggested that the OAKA Indoor Hall in Athens and the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus could be used to stage a Final Eight.
The 61-year-old confirmed that the 2019/2020 season must be completed by the end of July at the latest, ruling out the possibility of playing towards the end of the summer: "We believe that we cannot play later than the end of July. We are absolutely against playing games in September and October. That will impact and jeopardize the following season. We will have problems. So we already have every season problems with calendars. So postponing games to September-October, we can only increase these problems. And that's why we believe we have to avoid this negative impact on the 20-21 season, in many areas. Access criteria to leagues, game scheduling, teams' preseason, players' holidays. All these things will be disturbed with us playing games in September and October. So we discard this scenario. The last possible date to play EuroLeague games should be the end of July, in my opinion."
“We are reviewing medical facilities to support all clubs, as well as other elements that are necessary to provide a safe and healthy environment for all participants. We have draft calendars, including dates and tip-off times, if we can proceed, with the decision taken by the clubs. We have been working on all these things, but to date, such a decision cannot be made. During the month of May and probably towards the end of the month, we will have enough developments that will enable the clubs to take a well-informed decision.”
Furthermore, Bertomeu stated that he believes the EuroLeague will continue working with Turkish Airlines, while pointing out that the 2020/2021 season may begin inside empty arenas: “Regarding Turkish Airlines, after 10 years of working together, we have a high level of understanding. And despite the fact that we already signed two contracts in these 10 years, and we agreed a month ago that it is clear the common wish to keep working together for the next years. Next season? Probably we will have to adapt ourselves to new conditions in socializing, in our relationships, in going to venues or events with massive attendance. So probably protocols in terms of safety and sanitary conditions of these events will be different. I think this is realistic to foresee. I hope we will start the season playing games with our spectators. This is my hope. If we cannot, then we will have to once again be flexible and for the time that this will not be possible, we will find solutions.”
At the time of suspension, Panathinaikos occupied sixth spot with a 14-14 record, while Olympiacos were languishing in 11th position with 12 victories and 16 defeats.
