Asvel coach Zvezdan Mitrovic on February 28, 2020 during a match in Russia. - Gavriil Grigorov / TASS / Sipa USA / S

The good results of his basketball team did not allow him to save his place. Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne confirmed on Thursday that it had terminated the contract which linked it for another season to its Montenegrin coach Zvezdan Mitrovic.

A boiling character

Co-leader of the elite championship of France with Monaco and Dijon at the time of the stopping of the competition due to the pandemic of Covid-19, the Rhone club did not wish to give the reasons for this decision. "The current procedure does not allow to date to communicate more about the motivations of this rupture," said the club. Asvel is also 15th out of 18 in the Euroleague, three points from 7th and 8th places, the last two qualifiers for the quarter-finals of the event.

Mitrovic, 50, known for his hot temper, arrived in Villeurbanne in January 2018, succeeding the Franco-Canadian JD Jackson. With him, the Rhone club was champion of France in 2019. In an interview with the Team broadcast Thursday evening, club president Tony Parker clarified that the ousting of the Montenegrin coach was "obviously" not linked to the results sportsmen. "When you are at Asvel, you have a certain image to convey, a respect to show and the results are not everything", according to Parker. “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, "he continued without giving further details.

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  • Villeurbanne
  • Tony Parker
  • Lyon
  • Sport
  • Basketball
  • Asvel
  • Coach