Red Star president: EuroLeague's shameful decision

Red Star president: EuroLeague's shameful decision

Covic, who is president of the Red Star (Crvena Zvezda) basketball club, said at a press conference on Wednesday that he has analyzed the short explanation by the Euroleague, and that he did not manage to find anything that could be a foundation for the punishment, which was handed down to Red Star by disciplinary judge Patrick Gradjean.

Red Star Belgrade were handed down a EUR 50,000 fine and will have to play one home match behind closed doors, with Galatasaray ordered to pay a EUR 100,000 fine and play three matches behind closed doors, the Euroleague announced on its official website.

“We have a clean conscience. We have done all in our power and we bear no guilt,” Covic said, and announced that Red Star will appeal against the decision within the legal deadline of 10 days.

He said that the entire analysis by the Euroleague independent judge was based solely on the report by the Turkish side, which deemed that Red Star should have known that 400 of its fans will come to Istanbul and keep them under control.

Covic underlined that the club was in no way connected to the fans' trip, and it was not due to take care of them there.

He said that it is a shame that, while the dispute was on, all letters and responses of Red Star were forwarded to Galatasaray, stressing that everything that the Turkish club said in response to the judge was a notorious lie.

“No club should ever tell lies, particularly not a club as famous as this one, and especially because its founders are Serbs,” Covic said.

He said that Red Star will propose that all funds gained through this dispute should go to the family of late Marko Ivkovic, adding that the club will offer legal assistance to the family so that it could sue Turkey.

The persons responsible for the murder of French fan Brice Taton in Serbia were sentenced to a total of 240 years, and Toulouse Football Club was, of course, unpunished for the murder of its fan in Belgrade, Covic said.

He noted that Marko Ivkovic is the tenth victim of the Galatasaray fans, stressing that the decision by Euroleague to punish Red Star is unacceptable and utterly unjust, but that the club will fight for the truth.