ABA League: Five Clubs Turn on Presidency Over Referees
Red Star, Mega, Igokea, Krka and Zadar blame the ABA League Presidency for the referee crisis in a joint statement, demanding an urgent meeting of all 12 owners as early as tomorrow.
The ABA League season has not even started yet, and five clubs are already openly attacking their own leadership. Red Star, Mega, Igokea, Krka and Zadar, all co-owners of the competition, have issued a joint statement blaming the League Presidency for the referee crisis that now threatens to push back even the opening round. We had not covered this conflict until now, but it appears to have gone too far to wait any longer.
Who Five Clubs Blame
The target is clear, and it is not the referees, but the top of the League. The five clubs that signed the statement openly say the responsibility lies with Partizan, Buducnost and Cedevita Olimpija, the clubs that make up the Presidency, as well as the outgoing management.
“We believe the responsibility lies with the ABA League Presidency, made up of Partizan, Buducnost and Cedevita Olimpija, as well as the League’s outgoing management, which took part in running this process. We specifically stress that this assessment does not apply to the newly elected sports director and referee commissioner of the ABA League, who were not involved in the processes and decisions that preceded the current situation,” the joint statement from Red Star, Mega, Igokea, Krka and Zadar reads.
That distinction matters. The clubs are not targeting the entire administration, but specifically the Presidency and the old leadership, while they exempt the new sports director and referee commissioner, because, as they say, those two were not part of the decisions that led to the current situation.
As proof of poor management, they point to something quite specific rather than a general complaint. The owners’ meeting was held yesterday at noon, the referee list for the new season was on the agenda, and at that point the owners did not even have the list in hand.
“The latest example is the referee list. At the owners’ meeting held yesterday at noon, one of the most important issues for the upcoming season was discussed, and at that point the owners did not have access to the list of referees registered to officiate in the ABA League. Clubs were only sent that list after the meeting. This way of running the League is unacceptable to us,” the five clubs said.
A further complaint concerns quality. The five clubs claim that the club representatives on the Presidency opposed hiring referees who also officiate in the EuroLeague, and that the newly registered candidates, in their assessment, cannot match the experience and track record of the current pool of referees.
Where the Conflict Started: Money on the Table
The story started with money. Longtime ABA League referees asked for higher match fees, the request was turned down, and the League opened a call for new officials, one that referees already working in the competition could also apply to. The current referees did not like that, nor the terms on offer, nor how the League was treating them.
The new offer does raise the fees, especially for the closing stages of the season: the final would pay 1,500 euros instead of the current 1,350, and the semifinal 1,100 instead of 900. The first phase of the competition would go from 562.5 to 630 euros, the Top 8 and play in rounds would pay 650 euros each, the quarterfinal 700 euros, and the play out 630 euros per game.
Partizan president Ostoja Mijailovic, who also sits at the top of the ABA League, had already spoken about the situation, and he was the first to suggest that the opening round could be delayed.
“After Miguel Angel Perez signed a contract to become president of the Referee Commission a few days ago, we held a working meeting of the ABA League and decided to open a call for new referees. So at this point the season shouldn’t be delayed, and if it is, we might postpone that first round for all the clubs and play those games later,” Mijailovic said earlier, when the dispute was just beginning.
A Meeting as Early as Tomorrow
The five clubs now want the issue resolved around the table, and quickly. They see the starting point in a letter signed by 63 referees who have officiated in the ABA League so far, and they are insisting that a meeting with them be organized as early as tomorrow, with no further delay.
“All owners must be present at that meeting. Not the Presidency on behalf of the owners. Not individual clubs on behalf of the League. Not management without the owners. All 12 owners at the same table with the referees,” the statement reads.
This is no longer an ordinary preseason procedural spat, but an open split between owners. When five clubs publicly distance themselves from the moves of their own leadership, a day before the opening tip off, it is clear that someone has to give ground. Tomorrow’s meeting, if it even happens in the format the five clubs are demanding, will be the first real test of whether the ABA League enters the season with referees it already knows, or with a list that still has to prove it can carry the EuroLeague on its back.
