Panathinaikos: Greek basketball progresses and arbitration is unable to follow, become professional

About a week after the announcement he issued and with which he requested that there be a professional, the CEE sent a letter to the EEC, the ESAKE and the ODE. Panathinaikos BC referred to the issue of arbitration in Greek basketball, stressing the need to become professional. In his letter to the EEC, the ODKE and the ESAKE, Panathinaikos explained the ways in which Greek basketball has progressed in recent times, but also the reasons why arbitration “is unable to follow this progress”. “A professional league, in which professional teams and professional athletes participate, must also have professional referees” is highlighted by the “trifl” while it is said that it will “stand as a helper in every effort that is in the interest of the sport we love and serve”. The letter: Honourable Gentlemen, As you well know, according to Articles 47 and 48 of Law 2725/1999, both for the introduction of the system of professional arbitration and for the preparation of the relevant regulation which will regulate all kinds of issues relating to it, a decision by the Greek Basketball Federation (E. O.K.), following the opinion of the Federation of Greek Basketball Referees (O.D.K.E.) and the Greek Association of Anonymous Basketball Companies (E.S.A. K. E.). In particular: A) Paragraph 1 of Article 47 of Law 2725/1999 states that ‘By decision of the Board of Directors of the relevant sports federation, following the opinion of the professional association concerned and the relevant federation of referees, a professional arbitration system is introduced for the needs of national professional championships’ Paragraph 1 of Article 48 of Law 2725/1999 states that ‘By decision of the Board of Directors of the relevant sports federation, following the opinion of the relevant federation of referees and the professional association of sports public limited companies concerned, a specific regulation is to be drawn up which regulates all matters relating to professional arbitration. “ It is undisputed that professional basketball progresses towards the future in rapid steps, as evidenced by the continuous successes of Greek teams in European events, increasing the interest of fans (at stadiums, spectacularity of televised games, content dedicated exclusively to basketball on numerous websites, broadcasts, social media), the commercial development of the product through the ever-increasing influx of sponsorship funds and investments, improving the stadiums and returning to the high level of historical groups. One of the few players in the Greek basketball that is unable to follow the above progress seems to be the Greek arbitration for which all the above players, as well as the K.A.E. – members of the E.S.A.C. E. have recognized – either publicly or privately – that it is troubled by a number of pathogens that need correction in order to function at the highest level. Among many others, we cite the following, which you already know. Fewer and fewer new referees enter the area, as they are unable to survive arbitration and must have more basic employment, which does not allow them to devote themselves to arbitration and devote time to their continuing training and training. As a result, their performance ranges from low to moderate levels, as demonstrated by both ongoing complaints from all groups and almost complete absence Greek referees from the international competitions of National teams and clubs (just one in Eurobasket 2022 and World Cup 2023, none in the last Olympics, none in the Final4 in Euroleague and FIBA Champions League in recent years). Furthermore, the absence of a sufficient number of appropriate and experienced arbitrators forces the Central Arbitration Committee on the one hand to appoint arbitrators from the same limited tank, on the other hand to extend the legal age limits annually in order to keep them active, as many of them have exceeded them. Finally, the functioning of the Central Arbitration Committee itself suffers, as – in addition to the above – the relevant regulation allows it to choose the definition system (or draw, sometimes direct definition, etc.) during its uncontrolled judgment without solid criteria and ex ante explicit conditions. All bodies must take the next step and move from recognition of the problem to its solution. The only way to achieve this objective is to introduce the system of professional arbitration and to operate it under full autonomy and independence. The professional arbitration system will lead to an improvement in the performance of referees through the introduction of continuing training and education systems – as referees will devote their maximum employment to arbitration and will not be forced to pursue it in addition to the profession they are now earning from – and to an increase in their salaries. The above, combined with the introduction of a transparent and stable system of evaluation and definition of referees, will contribute to the objectivity and reliability of the league, reduce the uncertainty and negative mood of teams and fans and lead to the further upgrading and development of the professional basketball product. A professional league, in which professional teams and professional athletes participate, must also have professional referees. The success of the professional arbitration system is undeniable, as demonstrated by the examples of the advanced basketball championships of other venues (Spain, Euroleague, etc.) and domestic football leagues, which adopted it. For the above reasons, we request that you take the appropriate steps to resolve this so complex and troubled issue and immediately initiate the relevant procedure for introducing the professional arbitration system into the sport of basketball, as the law stipulates. As always, Panathinaikos BC will stand as a helper in every effort that is in the interest of the sport we love and serve.