Yesterday, the EuroLeague meeting between Paris and Fenerbahce was canceled. The reason? An epidemic which prevented the club from fielding enough players for the meeting. The decision to postpone the match caused outrage on the networks. Notably those of Evan Fournier, who warns of the precedent that such a choice could create.
Does Paris benefit from preferential treatment in the EuroLeague? No, and this should not even be subject to questioning, but… let’s formulate differently to approach this subject: in the event of too many absences, clubs like Vitoria-Gasteiz or Berlin would have enjoyed a similar reorganization of their calendar? Here, we are – unfortunately – not really sure.
The cancellation of the meeting between Paris and Fenerbahce, two teams fighting for first place in the EuroLeague regular season, caused a lot of talk. Starting with Evan Fournier, who did not mince his words to share his feelings on Twitter.
“All teams deal with illnesses and injuries every night. If it’s not possible to show up with enough players for the match, it should be a loss. Canceling matches potentially allows teams to manipulate the rules and that becomes dangerous. That’s just my opinion.”
Every team is playing thru illness and injuries every night. If you cant present yourself with enough players to compete, it should be a loss.
When you cancel the game you allow teams to potentially manipulate the rules and that becomes dangerous.
Just my opinion????????♂️
— Evan Fournier (@EvanFourmizz) https://twitter.com/EvanFourmizz/status/1869765328739434496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The matter could have ended there, but the sporting director of the Parisian club, Amara Sy, feigned a scathing response for all those who denounced the postponement of the match. For him, there is no question to ask given the context.
You have 90% of your workforce which is contaminated by a virus plus members of the staff and certain Zouaves criticize the decision to postpone the match which was planned for this evening.????♂️????♂️
Sorry to the people who were planning to come to the theater or watch it on TV.
????❤️????
— AMARA 5Y the Amiral, the “say it” (@AmarouXX) https://twitter.com/AmarouXX/status/1869808920778449058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Enough to provoke a reaction from Evan Fournier, who reaffirms his opinion.
Why don’t you? Do we have to agree?
If a team has too many injuries, why not have the match postponed?
I think it sets a precedent.
It’s to your advantage, so much the better for you, but it’s not something to normalize. HN sport is also playing despite the unexpected https://t.co/GAg0AkBIA9
— Evan Fournier (@EvanFourmizz) https://twitter.com/EvanFourmizz/status/1869833781110280642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
What do we think here? The decision is a priori the result of an agreement between Paris and Fenerbahce. From this point of view, it is impossible to question anything. However, as Evan rightly indicates, be careful of the precedent that this could create. Tomorrow, any team could also request that games be postponed for other reasons. Which is not necessarily in line with the principle of uncertainty linked to sport. We also wonder if, for other clubs which do not play the leading roles in the competition such as Paris and Fener, such a request would have been accepted…
