By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The letter to the EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas, which was made public by Olympiacos, created a chain reaction.
The EHCB issued a press release defending its executive director, Goran Sasic, and his involvement in the Athens bid for the 2026 Final Four.
The Greek minister of sports, Giannis Vroutsis, clarified that the Greek government is not talking with any mediator but directly to the EuroLeague.
And as it turned out, the EuroLeague and its CEO, Paulius Motiejunas, had already replied to Olympiacos’ letter before it became public.
According to Eurohoops information, the EuroLeague letter repeats that explanations on all those issues were given to Olympiacos during the ECA Board meeting of the 23rd of July, accusing the Greek club of leaking confidential information to the media, “accompanied by misleading and inaccurate statements”.
It’s also mentioned that the two Final Four offers by Athens and Belgrade are three times bigger compared with the past offers made for hosting a Final Four in Europe, proving the progress made, and asking clubs/ shareholders to address their questions on business matters directly with the management. Those clubs can also confidentially review all EuroLeague contracts in the EuroLeague Basketball offices, as was also the case in the past.
EuroLeague also clarifies that EHCB executive director Goran Sasic is not representing ECA in those negotiations. It also notes that with the two biggest-ever Final Four hosting offers on the table, the procedure will be concluded with a secret ballot, as it was asked by some of the clubs-shareholders in the previous meeting.