Trapani Shark one step away from the abyss. The Tribunale Federale della Federbasket“applies to the member Valerio Antonini, President of the Trapani Shark company, the sanction of inhibition in the amount deemed appropriate for two years, until 30 December 2027, and to the Trapani Shark company the penalty of three points to be served in the current championship (2025-2026)”. Thus, 8 penalty points have already been accumulated by Trapani since the start of the season.
The case
The affair exploded in November, with the farewell of Jasmin Repesa: “Professional conditions no longer sustainable” and of captain Amar Alibegovi?: “I was not left out of the squad, I decided to leave. I have always been professional but agreements at these levels must be respected”. On 24 November the FIP, recognizing other administrative and management irregularities, imposed a transfer ban on the club, prohibiting the registration of new players and staff members and thus leaving the team without a coach and with only 11 registered players. The club is trying to move from the 6+6 system, chosen at the beginning of the season, to the 5+5 system (5 Italians and 5 foreigners). According to the current regulation this is not possible.
The clash
The club requests the opening of a discussion and conciliation table but the Federation refuses and actually relaunches by opening an investigation into other irregularities relating to registration for the current championship. On Sunday, after yet another 50,000 euro fine for not having called up 12 players, the clash came. “Trapani Shark – declared sports director Valeriano D’Orta – takes note of the recent decisions of the LegaBasket and the FIP which represent an act of clear injustice and relentless persecution towards the club. Our competitiveness and the fairness of the entire championship are being irreparably compromised. This is an attack on our image and survival”. A very harsh attack: “We seriously and urgently evaluate the option of not taking part in the next match against Virtus Bologna”. The situation is in dramatic evolution. Missing two matches is enough to result in automatic exclusion from the championship. A scenario that seems closer and closer by the hour.
