Greek, Serbian suspensions handed down by FIBA: Krstic out for three Worlds games

August 27, 2010

It’s official: Suspensions from the 2010 FIBA World Championship have been handed out as a result of Greece-Serbia brawl last Thursday; Team Serbia’s Nenad Krstic will be missing the first three games of the tournament (against Angola, Germany and Jordan, respectively) while teammate Milos Teodosic got a two-game suspension.

For Greece, Antonis Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis will miss two games; Team Hellas’ first two games are against China and Puerto Rico.

Official FIBA announcement follows the break.

FIBA, the world governing body of basketball, today announced that four players are to be suspended, and their national federations fined, after recent fighting at a friendly tournament in Greece.

On 19th August, at a game between Greece and Serbia, a fight broke out towards the end of the game involving two players: Antonis Fotsis and Milos Teodosic. This resulted in a wider, violent brawl between several players of both teams.

The game was stopped immediately and never resumed.

FIBA started an official investigation after the game and has now announced its findings.

Serbian player Nenad Krstic is suspended with immediate effect for three games in main official FIBA competition which include the World Championships, Olympics and Continental Championships. The player was also fined a total of CHF 45,000 (almost €34,000/$44,000).

His teammate, Milos Teodosic, is also suspended with immediate effect for two games in main official FIBA competitions. The Serbian Basketball federation will be fined a total of CHF 20,000 (€15,375/$19,500).

Greek players Antonis Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis are suspended with immediate effect for two games in main official FIBA competitions. The Hellenic Basketball Federation will be fined a total of CHF 20,000.

Money from the fines will be used to support education programs for young basketball players.

FIBA believes that the judgment will send a strong message to all players that their behaviour on and off the court must be exemplary and in line with the rules of basketball at all times.

All parties have the right to appeal the decisions taken.

The FIBA World Championship begins in Turkey on August 28th, 2010.

Aug 27, 2010ballineurope

This post was published on August 27, 2010

Comments: 8

milaz
15 years ago
Krstic deserved at least 5 games…
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Rivaldo
15 years ago
You say 5? But Sofoklis only got 2?Don’t you think Sofo punching a guy 4 times smaller then him while on the ground could gotten more hurt then a semi plastic chair?Or for trying to fight even more going to serbia locker room after all was done?
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- milaz
  15 years ago
  Four players got punished, including Sofo. I believe that Krstic deserved more punishment. He instigated the fighting by grabbing Fotsis from the throat from behind – he was the FIRST to become violent (if you exclude Teodosic hit in the genitals to Fotsis and then his punch on Fotsis’s chin when he went to ask for explanations). Yes Sofo had not excuse…. maybe 2 for Fotsis+Teodosic, 3 for Sofo, 5 for Krstic….and I’m glad that the two Serbian players also got fined, to show that they were the instigators of the fighting.
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  - milaz
    15 years ago
    *no excuse
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migala
15 years ago
70 games to each player a-la-Artest! (;-D)
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Djordje Djordjic
15 years ago
The whole thing is strange. Fiba had no jurisdiction over this game. It’s a legal nonsense what they did. Nba is a “private company” and that can do what they want. Fiba is a international organization and they have limitations. This should go to CAS. But there is no time to do it. The next thing Fiba is going to ban players for speeding.

Regarding the ban it is more or less expected regarding the lobby’s. Fotsis deserved the biggest fine. He instigated the brawl, spit a player and when the whole thing was dying down he inflamed it again by attacking again Teo. Without his actions nothing would have happened. In my book Fotsis should have got at least a 10 game ban. Others deserved what they got.
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- miltaras
  14 years ago
  yeah,this djordje is serbian croatian or what?oh ofcourse fotsis deserves more penalty.after been hitten by teodosic and after a hard foul the second made. he made.what about ksristic stupid guy?he threw a chair to another player.could have hit him even more badly.u serbians r like a cancer to european countries.at least i m greek and i admit it.i don’t say what fotsis did is cool ,it was right for him to have penalty but teodosic started this thing not fotsis.three serbians tried to hit him what could fotsis do then?try to flirt with them?
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Santos Radisovich
15 years ago
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