Partizan Belgrade was not without controversy. There was a scandal in the form of a brawl in the second round when the game was already resolved (80–95) which ended the duel prematurely and resulted in sanctions., The Euroleague Disciplinary Judge ruled on the fight between the rosters at the Wijnik Center. As was to be expected, the one who turned out poorly was Guerschon Yabusele. The Frenchman will be unable to play during the next five matches of the competitions organized by the ECA (EuroLeague and EuroCup), which in effect prevents him from participating again in the remainder of the continental season.
The other players suspended were Kevin Punter (two games), Mathias Lesort (one game) and Gabriel Dack (one game). In addition, both clubs had to pay a financial fine of 50,000 euros. Euroleague also clarified that the decision “Not appealable due to the nature of the extraordinary process because it doesn’t happen during the regular seasonR. In other words, there was no time to resolve a potential appeal. The situation affected the rest of the series, which ended in a tie and a spectacular comeback in both the fifth and final game, eventually losing to Real Madrid (3–2).
None of the sanctioned players would be in the Final Four. Punter and Lesort will not do so as Partizan is eliminated, while Yabusele’s fate was decided after the sanction and will be completed later this week, when the semi-finals and final or the battle for third place will be played. This would be his fourth and fifth games of the suspension, which would allow him to play his first game of the next course. Gabriel Deck, who was penalized one match, injured his left knee in the fourth round. And it won’t be available in Kaunas either.
