CSKA explained why it supports Maccabi’s continued participation in the Euroleague

President of CSKA Andrei Vatutin on , he explained why the military club, during the Euroleague shareholders’ meeting, had advocated that the Israeli “Maccabi” continued to participate in the tournament at a neutral site.

On October 24, the Euroleague announced that Maccabi Tel Aviv would play its home matches in Belgrade. This decision was taken “taking into account the impossibility of organizing the games in Tel Aviv due to security concerns caused by the ongoing armed conflict in that region.”

— CSKA has been suspended from the Euroleague, but the club has the right to participate in discussions, vote and make certain decisions. Can you explain this mechanism?

— Overall, it’s an interesting case: we haven’t participated in the Euroleague for a year and a half, but as we are shareholders of the tournament, we participate in the management of the tournament with our colleagues. Last week, a meeting of Euroleague shareholders took place in Istanbul, where they discussed the participation of the Maccabi team. There was no vote as such, all clubs exchanged their opinions and expressed their positions. This is a sensitive issue for CSKA and the Russian teams, I remember that we were suspended, as we think, for political reasons and not for what was announced.

The “tit for tat” principle should not work here. The resentment of being suspended at that moment should not cloud your eyes. Our position was that Maccabi would continue to participate in the Euroleague. And of course, a year and a half ago, Maccabi did not support the withdrawal of Russian teams from the Euroleague.

-Can we take advantage of this situation? Say: “Guys, you can provide security, leave Maccabi. » Maybe we should play too, somewhere in Belgrade? Or is it completely impossible now?

— It is clear that a year and a half ago, decisions were taken more in the political than legal domain. Then no one began to discuss the possibility of Russian teams playing on neutral grounds, especially in Belgrade. But the current decision regarding Maccabi allows us to maintain the integrity of the tournament and the majority of Euroleague clubs agreed that Maccabi should help and find a compromise. There are no simple answers to complex questions.

I think we should give Maccabi the opportunity to play on neutral ground, while still maintaining the competition. Comparing two cases, ours and the current case, is not entirely correct. How stable is this security structure for Maccabi, with the participation of the police, a helicopter, etc., only time will tell,” Vatoutine said on the air of the program “There has a subject!”

Maccabi’s next home match, against German Bayern, will take place on November 9. The meeting with Real Madrid scheduled for November 2 has been postponed to another date.

On October 7, armed conflict broke out between Israel and Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in a speech to the nation that the country was in a state of war.