Parker justifies Mitrovic's departure: "Limits have been largely crossed"

Zvezdan Mitrovic and Asvel, it's over. The club chaired by Tony Parker confirms this Thursday, through a short press release, "having terminated the contract which bound him" to the volcanic Montenegrin technician of 50 years. And to specify: "The current procedure does not allow, to date, to communicate more on the motivations of this rupture". The team on  Wednesday echoed a dismissal procedure for "serious misconduct", citing "technical faults" and the many expulsions suffered by the former coach of Monaco. "Tony Parker, will speak in the coming days in order to restore certain realities, following statements made by the lawyer for Zvezdan Mitrovic," said one.

Club official press release ⤵https: //t.co/lzB8gaMj4Z#LDLCASVEL

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Finally, the former star of the parquet floor did not even wait 24 hours to speak. He explains in effect this Friday in the columns of L'Equipe  : “It is obvious that this is not linked to sports results. But when you are at Asvel, you have a certain image to convey, a respect to show and the results are not everything. With Nico (Batum, director of basketball operations at Asvel), we were ready to live with a lot of things because we won. But there are limits that have been crossed. There were things that had been negotiated with him before his contract that he had to respect and he did not respect them. ” We won't know any more. Not immediately. The quadruple NBA champion nevertheless promises, still in this interview, that people will understand this radical decision when they "know the truth" and that he will give more details "once the situation is resolved", reaffirming that "limits have been largely overcome ”by his now ex-coach.

Note that this decision was in no way dictated by OL Groupe and Jean-Michel Aulas. “The decision was made by Nico and me, insists Parker. Both. After, of course, I warned OL Groupe, which is a very important shareholder in our club (30% of Asvel, note). Jean-Michel's response was: "I trust you". Nico and Jean-Michel trust me and at the end of the day, I'm the one who takes the decision. ”

"We had built a team of patients last year, still happy that we had results!"

Recruited in 2018 after three seasons on the Monaco bench, with three consecutive wins in the Leaders Cup, Mitrovic guided Lyon-Villeurbanne to the double championship cup in 2019. Which was not enough to offer him a freehand in the eyes of "TP" ("We had built a team of patients last year, still happy that we had results!"). The Green Team shared, with Monaco and Dijon, the first rank in the classification of the Jeep Elite (21v-4d) at the time of the interruption of the season due to coronavirus. In the Euroleague, David Lighty and company point 15th (8v-14d). The prestigious European competition could also resume in July, while we will know more about the French championship after the General Assembly of the National Basketball League (LNB) on May 27.

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Asvel and Zvezdan Mitrovic have not yet finished. As Tony Parker foresees, the two parties risk ending up in court in order to settle their differences. "It is likely that Zvezdan will challenge the club's decision," he guessed. Well seen. “There is no other reason than technical faults, which in no way constitute a serious fault. I let Asvel wade through this curious procedure, develop its elements of language and seek to justify the unjustifiable, "squeaks Mitrovic's lawyer, Maître Xavier Le Cerf-Galle, via L'Equipe .

Freddy Fauthoux after Zvezdan Mitrovic?

And now ? Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum and others will have to start looking for a new coach. Although the name of Freddy Fauthoux insistently returns to the outskirts of the Astroballe, especially as his daughter, Marine, has just joined the women ... The former leader of the Blues is free after his departure from Levallois. And "TP" is not hiding. Still in the columns of the sports daily, he recognizes that it is a "serious" track, while specifying that nothing is signed. "The health and economic crisis will have a huge impact on professional sport and our club will not be spared," he said. We are currently working on the continuity of the project and there are many things to settle before knowing who will coach Asvel. ” With a possible resumption of the Euroleague on July 4, and a training camp which should a priori be held from June 12 to July 2, the calendar could nevertheless accelerate by itself… A decision as to the resumption of C1 will be taken by May 24.

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