Insults, coins thrown, cold water, and verbal abuse directed at referees and players: fines for Bologna and Cantù
Two more clubs were fined by the Sports Judge after reviewing the match reports from Monday night’s men’s top-division basketball games, which ended with victories for Trieste in Bologna and Milan in Desio in the derby against Cantù, which sits last with 0 points. Virtus Bologna was fined 1,466.00 euros for collective and frequent insults directed at the referees and for the isolated and sporadic throwing of a hard object (a coin) that did not hit anyone. The black-and-white club also received a warning for a lack of hot water in the referees’ locker room.
Pallacanestro Cantù, on the other hand, was fined 1,332.00 euros for collective and sporadic insults directed at a specifically identified player.
The match in Bologna, part of the sixth round, ended 100–93 in favor of the Giuliani, who overcame a 14-point deficit thanks to a second half in which they scored 54 points to the home team’s 38. For Trieste, the top performers were Galloway with 24 points, McDermott with 23 (plus 8 rebounds), and Lajae Jones with 21 (plus 9 rebounds), while for Virtus, the leading scorer was Alston with 16. After the game, Virtus coach Alex Mumbrú harshly criticized the officiating, particularly the performance of Lorenzo Baldini: “I find it unacceptable that in the third quarter, a team with such a short rotation had only one foul called against them, while the standard applied to us was completely different.”
The previous day, the Disciplinary Committee had sanctioned only one club, Napoli Basket, with a fine of 1,333 euros for collective and frequent insults from the crowd toward Reyer Venezia players, while Udine got off with a warning for barely audible 24-second and end-of-quarter buzzer sounds. The penalties were lighter than those on the fifth game day, when five clubs were punished, all for insults from the stands: €600 for Trieste, €2,400 for Umana Venezia Mestre, €400 for Maxima Roma, €600 for Scafati, and €1,200 for Varese. Varese had also been warned for the lack of hot water in the locker rooms, the same mishap that befell Scafati after their game against Verona on October 11.
The 175th derby between Cantù and Olimpia Milano, played in Desio, saw the home team—coached by Frank Vitucci and bolstered by the arrival of Osvaldas Olisevicius—enter the game with five losses in as many games. Milan, fresh off a week in Athens with two EuroLeague games, had already lost twice in the league.
