ABA League j.t.d. Presidency Statement

Regarding all developments related to determining the list of referees and the organization of officiating for ABA League j.t.d. competitions in the 2026/27 season, which could potentially jeopardize the planned start of the competitions, the Presidency of ABA League j.t.d., with the aim of objectively informing the public and ensuring full transparency, wishes to inform the public of all relevant details.

First of all, we would like to emphasize that on Friday, 18 September 2026, at a working meeting of the Company members, a unanimous decision was made to issue an open call for all interested referees wishing to be included on the list of candidates eligible for game assignments.

A total of 50 referees applied through the open call, on the basis of which the President of the Refereeing Commission, Miguel Ángel Pérez, compiled a list of 20 referees on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, and submitted it to the Company members for approval.

However, later that same day, just a few hours afterward, several referees withdrew from potentially officiating AdmiralBet ABA League games after receiving messages from the email address referees.abaleague@gmail.com urging them not to accept engagements in ABA League j.t.d.

On that occasion, an email address containing the protected name and intellectual property of ABA League j.t.d. was used unlawfully, despite the fact that the authorized representative of 63 referees had been explicitly notified on 18 September 2026 and requested to immediately cease using the aforementioned email address.

We would particularly like to emphasize that the referees communicating through the aforementioned email address have no contractual relationship with ABA League j.t.d. that would entitle them to present themselves as ABA League referees or to use the ABA League name and designations in their communications.

Considering that this act of misuse has potentially jeopardized the planned start of the AdmiralBet ABA League competition, the Presidency of ABA League j.t.d. will propose to the Company members the urgent undertaking of all necessary legal actions to protect the intellectual property, reputation and interests of ABA League j.t.d., as well as to exercise the right to compensation for any potential damages that ABA League j.t.d. may suffer as a result of the aforementioned events.