Exactly a year and a week ago, I wrote an opinion column titled: Lakovic and the double standard with the good ones. In it, I tried to expose the double standard with which sanctions are judged in the ACB after the Slovenian coach was punished with a four-game ban for excessive protests directed at Esperanza Mendoza, the referee of Covirán-Granca, and was removed from the court by security personnel.
A day before, when the text was already prepared, the club urged me to “defend our own” because it was the right time. I was already planning to do so, because Lakovic seems like a sensible person who deserved forgiveness for an isolated mistake, not out of chauvinistic sentiment.
Now, a year later, with Jaka stumbling over the same stone, rest assured that no one from the upper echelons of Gran Canaria intends for LA PROVINCIA/DLP to pass judgment on the situation experienced in the derby in Tenerife.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that the club wanted to express themselves in other media, God forbid questioning the freedom of communication. What is surprising is the way in which a president representing all fans of CB Gran Canaria opts for questionable language on social media and then instructs the issuance of a statement to the ACB that borders on the ridiculous.
“Shameful. This will not end here,” posted Sitapha Savané on his personal Twitter account. On Instagram, he opted for something more concise: “Shameful what I saw today,” he stated, in addition to promoting his biased discourse.
La Provincia was in Tenerife to verify the facts and relay them to its readers. If you don’t read the club representatives’ assessments in this medium, understand that it’s because the president even declined my greetings at the scene of the events.
However, since I was in Tenerife, I can tell you that, in the hallways of Santiago Martín, I saw the same person who claimed to be outraged, minutes later laughing with some Lenovo players while Jaka Lakovic was alone in the press room trying to address his mistake.
At the end of his appearance, the Slovenian apologized to me. Obviously, he didn’t have to because I only represent a media outlet. Jaka is a gentleman despite repeating his mistake on Sunday.
Therefore, what was lacking from Gran Canaria was a statement in which they also apologised on behalf of their coach. Apologising for the insults Víctor García hurled at the Tenerife fans, the referees, and for kicking the advertisements. And above all, for someone to apologise for not conveying a word of regret for Jaime Fernández, who will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
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Was the refereeing in the derby deplorable? Absolutely. Did it influence the outcome of the match? Most likely. But using all this to divert attention from the behaviours of those representing a 60-year-old crest is unjustifiable.
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