ABA League rejects referees, Perez drafts new list
After a 700 euro per game offer, the league turned down the terms lawyer Danijel Papak sent on behalf of 63 referees. Round two goes ahead as scheduled, round one stays without a date.
Lawyer Danijel Papak’s letter reached the ABA League within the deadline, but with a request for extra time. According to the letter, all 63 referees needed to go over the offer and reach a decision free of pressure and ultimatums, and a final answer was promised for September 29. The league then rejected the terms the referees sent through their lawyer, and Miguel Angel Perez was tasked with drawing up a new list of referees for the 2026/27 season.
What did the referees ask for, and what did the league offer?
The referees initially asked for 1,200 euros per game. On September 28, the league submitted a final offer of 700 euros per game, with 24 hours to respond.
According to Novosti, the referees’ last proposal came in two versions: 700 euros this season and 850 next, or 750 this season and 800 next. For the ABA League 2, they proposed a fee equal to half the top-tier amount, and as an added concession the referees gave up their bonus for this season. In the first version the figure for this season matched the league’s offer, and the difference lay in next season.
The league responded that its final offer had been 700 euros per game. Since it was not accepted, no deal was reached.
Who is drafting the new list, and who voted for it?
Perez is the referee commissioner and chair of the referee commission. The list must be confirmed by the league’s Assembly, and a majority was expected to back it. According to Novosti, Perez built the list from referees who applied to an open call, and the clubs that voted to open the call were Partizan, Cedevita Olimpija, Buducnost, Cibona, Mornar, SC Derby and FMP.
League president Ostoja Mijailovic explained to Mozzart Sport how that step unfolded:
The extended deadline given to the referees from last season’s list has expired. As the ABA League’s revised proposal was not accepted, and in line with the decision of the company’s members made yesterday, the chair of the Referee Commission, Mr. Miguel Angel Perez, has begun forming the list of referees for the new season.
Mijailovic added that some of last season’s referees have already been in touch with the league: “At the same time, a number of referees from last season’s list have already contacted the League and expressed a wish to be part of the competition in the coming season.”
He also said the dispute is not something never seen before:
Similar situations and disputes with referees have occurred in other European countries and in different sports, and serious sports organizations have resolved them successfully. I am confident that we will resolve them too.
He closed by saying: “The ABA League will continue its competition. Our obligation is to protect the stability, integrity and future of the League, and we will do that responsibly and resolutely.” He also assured that the league will come out of the whole situation “stronger and better organized”.
When is round two being played?
On Tuesday the league announced that round two of the ABA League and the second week of the ABA League 2 will be played on the previously set schedule. The statement reads:
Round two of the ABA League and the second week of the ABA League 2 will be played according to the previously determined schedule and on the scheduled dates, following the successful resolution of all issues concerning the organization of officiating for the 2026/27 season.
In the same statement, the league says the “new list of referees was finalized in the shortest possible time and everything is now ready for the start of the regional competitions”. The round two pairings are:
- Borac Cacak - Siroki
- Krka - Buducnost
- Cedevita Olimpija - Cibona
- Igokea - Slovan
- Vienna - Cluj
- Spartak - Bosna
- FMP - Crvena zvezda
- Ilirija - Dubai
- Partizan - Mega
- Zadar - SC Derby
Round one remains postponed. Dates and tip-off times for it and for the first week of the ABA League 2 will be set later, and the league has to fit them around the clubs’ EuroLeague and EuroCup commitments. Until then, the only known date is this weekend, when round two is on the schedule.
