Foreign officials a hot topic for Greek basketball’s Eternal Rivals
Representatives from Olympiacos and Panathinaikos squared-off in the latest Basket League board meeting over a motion to include foreign referees for the next Eternal Derby…
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The drama from last month’s Greek Cup semifinal clash continues to occupy headlines in the Greek basketball world after representatives from Olympiacos and Panathinaikos clashed over a motion to have foreign referees officiate future Eternal Derbies.
Olympiacos, who forfeited the second half of their semifinal clash against Panathinaikos in a protest to the officiating, again emphasized that they wouldn’t face Panathinaikos on the domestic scene without the presence of foreign referees.
Panathinaikos, who were handed a 20-0 win as a result of Olympiacos’ refusal to play the second half of last month’s Greek Cup semifinal, remained heavily against Olympiacos’ motion for foreign involvement and sarcastically joked the club would leave the Basket League if such a motion was passed.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Panathinaikos president, Manos Papadopoulos, demonstrated just how serious Panathinaikos took Olympiacos’ proposal as he addressed the media’s questions in a sarcastic.
“Teams cannot control officiating. We can never seem to agree. A referee can be good for one team and bad for another and so on. There are laws and rules. Olympiacos mentions that they won’t play unless foreign referees officiate the game. And we [Panathinaikos] say we want other refs. And other teams, too,” explained Papadopoulos.
Papadopoulos’ remarks took another sarcastic turn when he made a tongue-in-cheek demand that his club had a specific request for future derby clashes.
“We will not participate in a game unless officiated by Chinese referees. We will only play with Chinese ones from now on. There are rules. If Olympiacos won’t play in the derby, I can’t cry over it,” Papadopoulos concluded.
Olympiacos quickly responded to Papadopoulos’ comments with a tweet from the club’s official Twitter account with the club posting a picture of three Greek referees wearing photoshopped versions of bamboo hats and moustaches.
TWEET LINK: https://twitter.com/olympiacosbc/status/1102942824864116738
In addition to proposing foreign officials for derby clashes, Olympiacos also proposed the motion that the referee’s union would be aligned with the Greek Basket League itself as opposed to the union’s current affiliation with the Hellenic Basketball Federation. The motion was also supported by the likes of Aris, Promitheas, and Kymis.
Despite the discussions during the board meeting, no action was made and it remains unclear what will happen during next weekend’s scheduled derby clash between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in Piraeus.
