By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Giannakopoulos announced via a written statement his intention and according to EuroLeague rules, the three members of the appeal panel have a deadline of 30 days in order to provide their verdict.
However, considering the profile of the case, the decision on the appeal is expected to be announced sooner.
Before the announcement of the ban, Giannakopoulos has visited last week FIBA’s headquarters in Switzerland – and he posted a photo from his visit in his Instagram account – however according to sources close to the whole situation the visit was related to the BAT case of former Panathinaikos coach Sasha Djordjevic.
Eurohoops contacted FIBA and was informed that the international basketball federation will not issue any comment on the visit.
An interesting footnote of this case is that Giannakopoulos asked his ban to be suspended while his appeal is reviewed in order to be able to be present in the upcoming Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game against Baskonia.