That Euroleague has, as an important first step, secured its intention to relocate Russian teams’ home games on neutral ground may not be enough. Leaving aside the intention of Zalgiris not even to play those matches, facing possible sanctions not only sporting but economic (not accepted) or organizational (expulsion), the meetings will continue to be held as the events in the war that take place exists between Ukraine and Russia. The competition this year has three teams of Russian nationality: one has a permanent license (CSKA) and the other two are invited (Zenit and Unics).
In the players is the first impediment for the competition to develop easily. The departure of Tornike Shengelia, a Georgian power forward who had already had problems in the team for geopolitical and cultural reasons, from CSKA Moscow has been joined by Gabriel Lundberg, a Dane and former member of Spanish teams such as Manresa or the Canary Islands. The same path will be followed in the next few hours by the German Johannes Voigtmann and the Lithuanian Marius Grigonis. These four casualties have been confirmed by the Muscovites in a statement in which they highlight that “it is a violation of the terms of the contracts” what “The club will deal with understandable personal situations”. The situation of the four will be resolved when the war between Russia and its neighboring country calms down, warning that there may be “future consequences” because the contracts are still in force. But in the other two clubs they are not saved. At Zenit the loss of Shabazz Napier has been confirmed, who would have just returned to action last week (and with whom he was propagandistically intoxicated that his departure had to do with a physical disability and not with the war situation), and soon According to the Lithuanian journalist Jonas Miklovas, his compatriots Mindaugas Kuzminkas and Arturas Gudaitis, also of Lithuanian origin, could join. In the Unics, at the moment, there are no news in the squad.
The other leg of the table lies in the Russians’ ability to move. The European Union, as part of the package of sanctions imposed on Russia, has closed air traffic to operators from that country. Matches on neutral ground are therefore also at risk. Turkey, which is not part of the EU and has the capacity to host basketball structures, is the most plausible option being considered if the competition is to continue. But there is also another political measure that is a black cloud over the heads of the ECA, the United States’ recommendation to its citizens that “They should consider leaving Russia as soon as possible” because the transportation options to do so are going to decrease rapidly; American players are warned by the embassy, which specifies that “Russia has a level 4, No Fly” and the reaction of a part or the majority would leave the three teams that play this tournament more affected. Organizing a camp to avoid travel, like the one that was provided to the Toronto Raptors in Tampa Bay during the 2020/21 season (they could not enter and leave Canada), is another option on the table. It will mean another round of contacts between the clubs that own the Euroleague to clarify these different problems.