Partizan vs Red Star: Peruga Referees the Eternal Derby

The day before the eternal derby between Partizan and Red Star, Partizan coach Joan Penarroya had nothing harsh to say about his Spanish counterpart. “Zero contact with him, but he is a good guy and my friend,” he told a press conference, then added that the next day he would try to get him thrown out of the arena and put him under pressure.

Ibon Navarro was more reserved. Asked who would buy whom lunch after the derby, the Red Star coach answered: “I would rather not answer questions about who buys whom lunch after the derby right now, but it is a great question.” Penarroya spoke about the same subject before the season began, in an interview with Mozzart Sport:

“I am glad Ibon is here, although we will probably go to lunch only in Spain, not in Belgrade! Joking aside, Red Star is our biggest rival and I hope that, like last season, we will win many games against them.”

The eternal derby is tonight, Thursday, October 22, at 8:45 pm in Belgrade Arena, in Round 7 of the Euroleague. Partizan are the hosts, and Arena Sport broadcasts the game.

Who referees the eternal derby, and what did Peruga call in April?

The Euroleague has named the officiating crew: Spain’s Carlos Peruga is the lead referee, joined by Ukraine’s Boris Rizik and France’s Thomas Bissuel. Peruga also refereed the previous derby, on April 2, 2026, in Round 35, together with Mehdi Difallah and Gytis Vilius. Partizan won that game 89-82 as the visitors, Carlik Jones scored 26 points, Sterling Brown 22, and for Red Star Cody Miller-McIntyre scored 24.

That makes it the second consecutive Euroleague derby for Peruga.

Partizan 3-3, Red Star 4-2: how the teams reached the derby

Partizan opened the season with three wins, over Olimpia Milano, Paris and Bayern, then lost three games in a row. The Red and Whites started the other way around: two defeats at the start, then four straight wins. The record is 3-3 for Partizan and 4-2 for Red Star, which means the visitors enter the Arena with a chance at a fifth consecutive Euroleague win.

Penarroya has his hands full. Tonye Jekiri is out, Derek Willis is injured, and Vanja Marinkovic will not play in the derby. About his captain, the Partizan coach said: “I think he is in good shape. Now he has to practice with contact. We have to be patient with him, and he has to be patient too. Two, three weeks.” New signing Antonio Rivas and Koloko arrived in Belgrade ahead of the derby, and they are expected to debut in the next round.

Many questions also concern Jones, who has not scored much in the last three games. Penarroya accepted that, but stressed that the problem is not one player:

“Carlik is very important because he is our leader and scorer, but we need the whole team, not just one individual.”

“This is a different game. In the end it is a win or a loss, like all the others, but I know it is special for the fans,” Penarroya said. On the other side, Mozzart Sport singles out Chima Moneke as the leader of Red Star’s winning streak.

Why did the odds turn around before the derby?

Because Red Star gained a much more favorable assessment within a few days. According to betting market data published by Alo, the odds on a Partizan win were between 1.48 and 1.55 just a few days ago, and on a Red Star win between 2.45 and 2.55. Currently the odds on Partizan range from 1.82 to 2.05, and on Red Star from about 1.82 to 1.91, and they differ from bookmaker to bookmaker. Mozzart Sport lists 2.10 for Partizan and 2.00 for Red Star. The odds can change right before tip-off.

Penarroya and Navarro, the 25th duel

The two Spaniards first met in 2015, and Navarro opened their head-to-head with two wins. Penarroya later collected more victories: 15 against Navarro’s nine. They last faced each other in October 2025, when Penarroya’s Barcelona beat Navarro’s Unicaja. Soon afterward, before the end of that year, Penarroya was dismissed by Barcelona and took over Partizan from Zeljko Obradovic, while Navarro left Malaga and, for the first time in his career, left his home country, at the invitation of Milos Teodosic and Red Star.

Mozzart Sport writes that this is the first derby in which both teams are led by foreigners, namely two Spaniards. In the same text it acknowledges that foreigners have sat on both clubs’ benches before, from Yannis Sfairopoulos to Andrea Trinchieri, setting aside coaches from Montenegro and Slovenia. The only certainty is that this is the first time two Spaniards lead the derby. The first basketball derby was played on September 6, 1945, at Mali Kalemegdan, on an open-air court.

In a video statement for B92.sport before the game, Navarro said: “I am not leaving the house until Friday.” The game starts at 8:45 pm, and Rivas and Koloko are expected to debut only in the next round of the Euroleague.