“The Yabusele thing is in jail”: the consequences of the unfortunate ‘pressing catch’ in Madrid-Partizan

Why did the pitched battle originate?

With 1:40 remaining for the end of the match, a stark lack of Sergio Llullof the Real MadridKevin Punter, from Partizan, lit the fuse for war. What was going to end with an unsportsmanlike action provoked the ire of the visiting point guard, who threatened the local with his fist raised. Suddenly, all the players, both those on the court and those on the bench, they were involved in a sea of ​​blows.

The situation got out of control, with the anger of the WiZink stands, where, among others, Raúl González, coach of Real Madrid Castilla and who appears confronting Punter in the videos of the fight; either Stefan Savicfrom Atlético, present in a sector of Serbian fans that almost collapsed with the tangana.

Up to 21 disqualifying fouls and end of the match

When the spirits went ‘stand by’, the referees decided to conclude the game with 1:40 to go after calling 21 disqualifying fouls on players, two technical fouls on the bench and two unsportsmanlike fouls, which left both teams without troops. available to play. sanctions for all, with the exception of Poirier, who was already out due to fouls, Leday and Sergio Llullwho in the morning after the altercations asked for forgiveness.

“What happened last night should never happen on a basketball court. I assume my responsibility for making that hard foul that triggered the subsequent disaster. My apologies to all basketball fans,” said the Spaniard through his social networks. If the game is rewound, Punter and Llull star in a purely sporting play where the American gets away with it sportingly. The blow that unleashed the riot recalled the aggression of the Frenchman Batum to the Spanish Juan Carlos Navarro at the 2012 Olympics.

“Yabusele to prison” and Exum injured for the remainder of the course

Beyond Punter and Llull, through whom the beginning of the brawl passes, the most denigrating action of the fight is the one carried out by the power forward Guerschon Yabusele. The Frenchman did a judo hold on Dante Exum with a maneuver similar to the technique soto-makikomi. “The way she threw it away… That’s for prison and of course the lifetime ban! I could have broken his spine, severely injured his head and done with his career. It was terrible, I had never seen it in my life,” said the Partizan doctor.

In the absence of a definitive diagnosis, according to the Serbian press, Exum was examined in the Palace dressing room, where in a first examination he was detected “a tear in the tendon of the second toe”, which has forced him to go back to Belgrade on crutches, “in addition, he also injured his upper lip” from the blows received. Rudy Fernández came to inquire about him after the storm, when he was sitting next to a billboard, already without shoes.

“Madrid will want to play behind closed doors”

The consequences of the pitched battle will kick in for years and There are several voices calling for the expulsion of Yabusele of white discipline, for what they consider to be a great reputational damage. He had to intervene even the French family to stop the violence. The Palacio de los Deportes, transformed into a boxing ring, has become the center of attention for world sports. As an addition, Real Madrid, but above all Chus Mateo, are on the ropes. No one in Euroleague history has come back from 0-2 down.

It can still be worse. After seeing the blood flow, the fans of each of the teams spurred their own. There is at least a third game left in this quarterfinal tie. It will take place in the Stark Arena, a pavilion that is already a boiler without the need for this background. “Real Madrid wants the Belgrade match to be played without an audience,” said Malcolm Delaney, an American point guard with a long career in Europe. Neither would they manage to calm down their spirits nor would they settle the many pending accounts that remain after a shameful televised battle that distances its protagonists from professionalism.