Jordi Bertomeu addresses the future of the EuroLeague season

The president and CEO of the EuroLeague, Jordi Bertomeu, addressed the future of the EuroLeague season amid the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Bertomeu said the season will be suspended for at least 30 days and then the situation will be re-evaluated.

Here is the official letter that Bertomeu sent to all EuroLeague fans:

“Dear Fans,

I want to thank all of you for the passion and commitment that you continue showing Euroleague Basketball in the most difficult situation we have lived in our 20-year history.

Since the very first moment when the COVID-19 virus arrived to Europe, we have taken this issue with the maximum seriousness and meticulously following the instructions of national and regional governments, as well as those of the relevant global authorities.

This has led us to take unpopular decisions including playing games behind closed doors or relocating games that damaged our most precious treasure, the fans, and ultimately the escalation has forced us to temporarily suspend our competitions to protect participants and fans as well as to contribute to the efforts that our communities are making to fight the global pandemic altogether.

Our games will be suspended until at least April 11, 2020 and we remain committed to deliver an ending to what has been an outstanding season so far.

If the entire situation has brought anything good, it is more evidence that the Euroleague Basketball family is a unique community that everyone can feel very proud to belong to.

We will continue serving you with content from our competitions across euroleague.net and official social media platforms, where you will also find further updates on the COVID-19 situation.

We will also work in close partnership with our rightsholders to entertain fans who find themselves in an unusual situation.

We hope that we can count a “win” and that the competitions can be resumed as soon as possible. Euroleague Basketball will continue monitoring the situation on a daily basis, as our Medical Officer works in partnership with public health experts to ensure that this occurs when the environment is safe to do so.

Meanwhile, we encourage you to follow all precautionary measures that are recommended by your public health authorities and the World Health Organization to prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible.”

Real Madrid forward Trey Thompkins is the first EuroLeague player that was tested positive for the coronavirus.

The “Whites” and Armani Milano are in quarantine for the next 14 days.