The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected a lawsuit that the Spanish professional league (ACB) filed last January against Euroleague Basketball in reaction to the recent change of structure in Europe’s top competition.
CAS specified that the claim made against Euroleague Basketball S.L., Euroleague Properties S.A., Euroleague Commercial Assets S.A. and Jordi Bertomeu cannot be judged and therefore must be dropped. CAS allowed the claim to continue, however, against individual clubs who were co-defendents in the lawsuit, some of them Spanish teams who are members of the ACB.
The lawsuit filed filed by the ACB against all co-members of the Euroleague General Assembly, including ACB clubs, was in disagreement with the proposal approved in July 2009 by all clubs and leagues except ACB to change the structure of the Euroleague competition. Included in the claim is a denouncement of the new system, arguing that it was in breach of European Community competition rules.
“At Euroleague Basketball, we are satisfied with the resolution announced by the CAS,” said Jordi Bertomeu, CEO of Euroleague Basketball. “We sincerely hope that ACB reconsiders the continuance of its claim, and its actions, not only against the ACB´s own clubs, but also against other European clubs. This situation, a league legally denouncing its own clubs, is difficult to understand. Euroleague Basketball is always open to discussing viable options for the growth and improvement of basketball in Europe and would gladly welcome dialogue on this issue.”
Source: www.euroleague.net
