Partizan were fined 48,000 Serbian dinars (~€409) for preventing "proper conduct of the competition" after the club failed to present the required documents for player registration.
On the same day that the Serbian League (KLS) final series began, the league took action against a team that was not participating in the game.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade were fined 48,000 Serbian dinars (~€409) for preventing "proper conduct of the competition", Telegraf reports.
After dropping out of the competition last year as a protest against fan violence in derby matches against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, Partizan failed to present the required documents for player registration for the league in time this year and were excluded from contending for the title.
The clubs were reportedly notified by the league that the deadline for player licensing was April 24th. The black-and-white team submitted their registration on April 29th.
KLS was part of a scheduling chaos recently after announcing the date of the finals. Several days later, the ABA League announced the dates of their own final series which coincided with the ones the KLS shared, essentially forcing Crvena Zvezda to play either a game each day or even start both series on the same day.
Crvena Zvezda protested, releasing a statement about a possible forfeit of the ABA League. On Thursday, June 8th, ABA League released a new schedule and asked both clubs for their approval.
After receiving approval only from Crvena Zvezda, the league used Article 11 of its Bylaws to uphold the decision despite Partizan disagreeing with the change. The latest statement from Partizan puts the drama to rest.
Earlier in the week, it was revealed that three high-level referees have opted out of working in the ABA League finals.
Full schedule of KLS and ABA:
- Friday, June 9th - Crvena Zvezda vs. FMP - KLS
- Sunday, June 11th - FMP vs. Crvena Zvezda - KLS
- Monday, June 12th - Crvena Zvezda vs. FMP - KLS *if necessary
- Tuesday, June 13th - Partizan vs. Crvena Zvezda - ABA
- Thursday, June 15th - Partizan vs. Crvena Zvezda - ABA
- Sunday, June 18th - Crvena Zvezda vs. Partizan - ABA
- Tuesday, June 20th - Crvena Zvezda vs. Partizan - ABA *if necessary
- Thursday, June 22nd - Partizan vs. Crvena Zvezda - ABA *if necessary
