Red Star Belgrade basketball team justify players' refusal to hold pro-Ukraine banner

Red Star stressed that as a representative of their country they must “follow the official position” of Serbia on the war in Ukraine, which they said was “clear”.

Belgrade: Serbian basketball club Red Star Belgrade on Monday justified the team’s decision not to hold a banner in support of Ukraine before a Euroleague game in Lithuania, criticising the “politicisation of the players’ gesture”.

Before Sunday’s game against Zalgiris Kaunas, players for the home team and the three referees displayed a banner in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine that read: “Stop War”.

Red Star said they wanted to “prevent any speculation and politicisation of the players’ gesture”.

“In our official communications with the Euroleague and the Zalgiris club management, we made it clear several days before the (Sunday’s) match that we will not allow any politicisation and that we will not carry a banner in colours of the flag of any country,” Red Star said in a statement.

Red Star stressed that as a representative of their country they must “follow the official position” of Serbia on the war in Ukraine, which they said was “clear”.

Serbia has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations but it refuses to impose sanctions on Moscow.

“Our request not to carry a banner that is not neutral was not accepted.” The club asked the Euroleague to “react urgently, open a disciplinary procedure and sanction this violation of the basic principles and rules of the Euroleague.”

Red Star’s American forward Aaron White expressed his opposition to the war.

“As a team we were told to not touch the flag. I would like to make it clear I don’t support the war and I want peace in our world,” he tweeted.

The club asked whether, based on Sunday’s events, it should “rightfully demand from all the players in the matches in Belgrade to carry a banner ‘Kosovo is Serbia’”.

It was a reference to the Albanian-majority former Serbian province that unilaterally declared independence in 2008.

Belgrade is due to host the Euroleague Final Four in May.

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