Swedish star Jonas Jerebko, who hasn’t played for a year after a spell at Khimki, joins the ranks of CSKA. Said signing has caused a stir in the Swedish Basketball Federation, which does not share the player’s decision.
The 35-year-old forward has not officially set foot on a basketball court since January 23, 2021. Now, after being unemployed for so long joins a CSKA in low hours. These were the words of the player after his signing was announced: “It is an honor to join a club as historic as CSKA. I have been waiting for an opportunity to play basketball again, and I am very excited to join the team..”
If the current war context did not exist, it would be “fantastic” news. An experienced player, who is nearing the end of his career and hasn’t found a team for quite some time, manages to attract the attention of one of the best teams in Europe. Unfortunately, reality is what it is, and the player’s decision has not gone down very well in his native country.
The secretary general of the Swedish basketball federation, Fredrik Joulamo, expressed his disagreement with Jerebko’s decision: “It is clear that the timing of this decision is, to say the least, surprising. I have to talk to Jonas and find out what he thinks. Our position (Swedish Basketball Association) on this issue is quite clear. We have done a fundraiser, hWe have condemned the invasion of Russia and we have supported FIBA’s decision. But we are not involved in the contracts of our players. We’ll have to talk about what this means for Jonas and for us in the future.”, stated the director.
Swedish basketball has not been the only one that does not agree with the player’s decision, in fact, one of the brands that sponsored Jonas, Nocco, has broken their agreement after learning that Kinna’s was packing to go to Russia. “We have chosen to break off cooperation due to your decision to play in Russia”, said Jessica Linder, director of the energy drink brand, Nocco.
The qualifying matches for the World Cup are “just around the corner” and Sweden will have to face Slovenia and Finland. Jerebko, for his part, has made it clear that he wants to play, but it all depends on how the “dispute” with the swedish federation progresses, which has already made its position clear.
