Public enemy no. 1 in Reds land
After game three of the Greek League championship, in which a number of questionable calls went against Olympiacos against rivals Panathinaikos, Reds management isn’t taking things lying down.
In a statement posted on the team’s official website, Olympiacos officials were “compel[led] to condemn those responsible for controlling the course of Greek basketball” for general egregiousness against the Reds. (“Τα πρωτοφανή διαιτητικά όργια σε βάρος της ομάδας μας των οποίων όλοι οι φίλαθλοι έγιναν μάρτυρες, μας αναγκάζουν να καταγγείλουμε τους υπευθύνους που ελέγχουν τον χώρο του ελληνικού μπάσκετ και που δεν είναι άλλοι από…”)
Describing the current standards of Greek refereeing as “sad and weak” while calling for assessments of referees Christodoulou and Anastopoulos, Olympiacos officials have decried consistent bias against the Reds and are now threatening to remove the team from 2010-11 EΣAKE contention if the situation is not changed to their liking.
(“Η ΚΑΕ ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΣ έχει αδικηθεί κατάφωρα από την διαιτησία κατ’ επανάληψη και δεν προτίθεται να συμμετάσχει στο επόμενο πρωτάθλημα του ΕΣΑΚΕ της περιόδου 2010 – 2011, με ότι αυτό συνεπάγεται για την ομάδα μας και το ελληνικό μπάσκετ γενικότερα, αν δεν αλλάξει η σύνθεση και ο τρόπος λειτουργίας της ΚΕΔ.”)
Olympiacos has also requested that neutral officials (presumably appointed by FIBA) call game five (if necessary). No response from the league on the matter has been issued.
As for whether the officiating was indeed *that* bad, here’s the Mark Cuban-like tape put together by Olympiacos. Judge for yourselves below and enjoy game four tonight; here’s to thinking the zebras won’t…
