The start of the 26th season of the regional ABA League, scheduled for this weekend, is in question due to a dispute between the league leadership and the referees' association. The season was set to begin on Friday with matches between Budućnost and Ciborna, and Zadar and Bosna, but just before the start, several referees suddenly withdrew from participation.
At the heart of the issue is the conflict between the league's leadership and the referees' association. The majority of the existing referees had demanded significant improvements to their financial and legal status. A group of 63 referees had requested an increase in gross pay to €1,200 for a regular season game, €2,000 for the final, and seasonal bonuses of up to €5,000. They also requested comprehensive health insurance and injury compensation. The league's management described these demands as extortion and proposed that the decision on them be made later, with the season starting under the previous conditions. The referees rejected this proposal.
The league then proceeded to recruit new referees from across Europe via a public tender, to which 50 referees applied. The president of the referees' commission, Miguel Angel Perez, prepared a list of 20 referees on Wednesday and submitted it to the members of the society for approval. Just hours later, several referees withdrew from the possibility of officiating matches in the regional league after receiving messages on their email addresses from [email protected], in which they were asked not to accept the ABA League engagement.
According to the league's leadership, this involves the unauthorized use of an email address containing the league's protected name and intellectual property. The designated representative of the 63 referees was informed on 18 September and asked to immediately cease using the specified address. The referees communicating via this address do not have a contractual relationship with the ABA League that would grant them the right to represent themselves as ABA League referees or to use the league's name and branding in their communications. This has triggered a negative reaction from the opposing side, with a campaign of retaliation via a website that the league's leadership claims is illegal.
The board of the ABA League is convinced that this is a case of abuse that could potentially jeopardise the planned start of the competition. They will propose to the members that they urgently implement all necessary legal measures to protect the league's intellectual property, reputation, and interests, as well as to secure the right to compensation for any damage the league may suffer.
Twenty clubs will compete in the regional ABA League. Due to a revised competition format, the clubs are divided into two groups of ten in the regular season. Two Croatian clubs, Cibona and Zadar, will also compete in the league.
