Panathinaikos OPAP Athens filed an official complaint against the legality of the Euroleague game against Armani Milan, in which the Italian team prevailed by 83-86.
The complaint was presented right after the end of the game and before the referees had finalized the match sheet.
In particular, the Greens claim that at 2:01 before the end and after they had made a basket, the game-clock kept running unjustifiably, since at each interruption in the last two minutes of a game, time should be stopped when there is no action. That did not happen and the match was restarted at 1:48 with Armani having possession of the ball and despite the fact that the referees had chosen to review the incident on the instant replay.
Armani Milano coach Simone Pianigiani was asked at the post-game press conference about PAO’s initiative. “Honestly, I think that Panathinaikos is a top club”, he said. “I don’t think that they will complain for something when we led for 40 minutes in their home. I think they know we played better tonight.”
It should be noted that in the case of arbitration errors that have to do with time, the case is considered much more seriously. Despite the fact that no protest has been accepted by the Euroleague Basketball Independent Disciplinary Judge in the past, the Greens believe they’ve got a chance to win the case and that the last two minutes of the game will be replayed.
