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The Euroleague approved changes to the rules on Monday, but not everyone liked the innovations, especially Pavel Astachov, director of the Moscow Chimki region.
Moscow Chimki Region / Schedule
“We respect the Euroleague as a tournament, we respect our fans and we love basketball very much,” Astachov told Ria Novosti. “We invited young players to go to Spain and we played the best we could.”
“We just realized that we couldn’t go anywhere and ignore anyone. We would have had 0:20 losses, but the match would have been postponed as for the other teams. In my opinion, the principle of sport is violated here. They should all be equal in the tournament, but it seems that some Euroleague teams are more equal than others, “Astachov continued.
According to the latest changes to the EuroLeague rules, there will no longer be technical losses for a team that cannot enter a match due to a large number of coronavirus infections.
As the new regulations come into force retroactively, the clubs Zenit St. Petersburg and Vilerban ASVEL, which would have suffered two technical losses first, will be wiped off the scoreboard. However, Chimki stuck to the coronavirus and injuries and went to every game with a small and young lineup.
According to Astachov, he believes that the results of Chimki’s last match should be canceled.
“The most logical thing would be for the Euroleague to cancel the results of our last three games, in which we did not play the strongest due to COVID-19 infection, and postpone the games for other dates.
That would be fair. If that does not happen, we will see the application of a double standard. Such decisions do not add strength to the tournament, ”said the Chimki manager.
Astachov also did not agree with the retroactive application of the new Euroleague rules.
“The idea of changing the rules for coronavir is correct, but some points raise questions. In particular, the point according to which the new rules apply retroactively. The rules we play are basketball and they do not apply in reverse order. Yes new rules are adopted, they will come into effect as soon as they are adopted, “Astachov said.
TASS Photo – Scanpix
“When we had five sick basketball players, we asked the Euroleague to postpone our match in Spain. In the match with Žalgiris, we only had five main players, so we connected three basketball players from the youth team.
The Euroleague refused to postpone our meetings in Spain. Before adopting rule changes, the Euroleague reached out to all clubs to hear their views on the new rules. “I have put forward all the thoughts that I have expressed here for the Euroleague,” Astachov concluded.
The Euroleague also received the accent of Alfon Reyes, president of the Association of Players of Spain. According to Spain, the coronavirus for the Euroleague is practically non-existent.
“The bubble in Valencia was unleashed because we, the ACB and the health organizations, worked closely. We followed a strict protocol and the final tournament of the season went smoothly.
At that time, the coronavirus is practically non-existent in the Euroleague. That is why they did not make any adjustments to their calendar. We knew it would be difficult to deal with the virus crisis, because each country in Europe is like a separate world, ”Reyes told the Spanish media.
“It is not the first time that the Euroleague thinks more about itself than about the players. Basketball players are considered nonsense when important decisions are made ”, concluded the president of the Spanish Players Association.
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