EuroLeague CEO Jordi Bertomeu admitted it will be difficult for the Russian clubs to return to the league.
With the political climate between Russia and the West entering a new Cold War era after the invasion of Ukraine, EuroLeague may be forced to continue without Russian teams.
“It is too early to talk about that, we need to see what the situation will be like,” Bertomeu said during his appearance in Serbian radio “Maxbet”, via Eurohoops.net.
“It will be clearer after the Final Four. We see what the circumstances will be like. If it stays as it is now, it will be very difficult for Russian clubs to return. We will suggest some things to the clubs.”
Bearing any changes in the situation between the West and Russia, it seems impossible to see anyway that CSKA, UNICS and Zenit could continue in EuroLeague.
While Zenit and UNICS contract will expire this summer, the situation with CSKA Moscow could be more complicated considering the team is among the founding clubs of the competition.
Meanwhile, it has to be noted that Bertomeu is stepping down from his role as CEO at the end of the season and EuroLeague clubs are still in search of a replacement.
In any case, many teams could be interested in participating in the competition including Virtus Bologna, Valencia and Partizan Belgrade.
All of these three teams are participating in the EuroLeague organization via the EuroCup, which is the second-tier competition which offers two spots in the EuroLeague every season.
Since Russian invaded Ukraine, the EuroLeague decided to suspend CSKA Moscow, Zenit St.Petersburg and UNICS Kazan. The shareholders also decided to cancel the fixtures of those team, which resulted in changes on the standings.
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