Panathinaikos owner threatens to take club out of the Euroleague

Panathinaikos basketball club owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos is threatening to take the six-time European champion off the Euroleague unless his one-year court ban is reversed - or reduced conseiderably - by the appeals committee of Europe's prime basketball club league.

The Euroleague has imposed a particularly harsh penalty on the Greens' owner following his response to vitriolic comments Turkish fans on Instagram. This also came after a number of instances in which Giannakopoulos and Panathinaikos feel the Euroleague has been particularly hostile toward them.

In a statement published late on Monday, Giannakopoulos said that if his ban is upheld he will pose a question to the Panathinaikos fans in the form of a referendum, whether they wish the club to remain in the Euroleague, as its long-term contract dictates, or move to another continental tournament. He added that...