ONE System |
Yam Madar (The Official Twitter of Partizan Belgrade)
Partisan Belgrade, Yam Madar’s team, took a significant and surprising step tonight (Thursday) in the fight against hooliganism and violence in Serbian basketball, when it announced its retirement from the continuation of the 2021/22 season in the local league.
The team, coached by Zeljko Oberdovic, took the extreme step following a series of violent incidents that took place in the stands throughout the Adriatic League final series between them and their big rival, Red Star Belgrade, and with the understanding that there is a good chance the local league playoffs will meet Both groups and will allow them to continue the confrontation.
The club published a statement on its official website stating: “The Partizan Belgrade Basketball Club has finished the 2021/22 season and will not take part in the Serbian League playoffs. This decision was made by the club following the events during the Adriatic League final. Despite all the requests from the Red Star and Partisan, all five games were full of incidents that endangered the safety of the players and coaches. These incidents led to the partial or complete closure of the halls, many fines and great embarrassment to Serbian and regional basketball, in the eyes of the whole world.
“Throughout the series, the criticism from partisan representatives was great. Both the president and the coach publicly criticized the irresponsible fans in the stands for their behavior. Unfortunately, the reviews did not bear fruit. We are sending a message that the club does not want to be part of the hooligan celebrations, no matter if they are Red Star fans or a partisan. We have reason to believe that another final series between the teams will become another pillow for bullies who destroy our sport and another terrible picture that will be seen forever. “
Partisan leaders have made it clear that they want to promote a fight against the ugly phenomena in Serbian basketball, in cooperation with the various teams and bodies that run Serbian basketball: “Such behavior by some people and unrealized opportunities to punish them will not lead us to where we want to be.”
