Khaberni - The board of directors of the Jordanian Orthodox Club, one of the historical pillars of basketball in the kingdom, has officially apologized for participating in the men's basketball league for the upcoming sports season 2025-2026.
In a detailed press statement released today, Wednesday, October 29, 2025, the club explained that this difficult decision came "based on a set of substantial reasons that prevented the availability of a fair and equitable competitive environment," emphasizing its concern to preserve its rights and esteemed reputation.
The statement listed key points it considered as the direct reasons behind the withdrawal, which relate to the core of the administrative and technical work of the Jordanian Basketball Federation.
1. Impactful officiating errors
The club placed officiating errors at the forefront of its reasons, considering them a direct factor in affecting the fairness of the competition. The statement explained that the past season "witnessed a series of impactful officiating errors that had a direct reflection on the results of the matches," specifically those played by the Orthodox, pointing to "unfair and inequitable decisions". The statement confirmed that "despite filing official objections supported by facts and observations, no corrective or disciplinary action was taken by the federation" against the officials, which "undermined the clubs' trust in the integrity and impartiality of the refereeing system".
2. Conflicts of interest in the federation's structure
The club raised fundamental criticisms of what it called "conflict of interests" in the decision-making process within the federation
The statement noted that the federation's board of directors "currently consists of club presidents who are actually participating in the league" (following the resignation of the president and appointed members), considering this "a clear conflict with the principle of institutional neutrality". The club confirmed that this situation led to decisions "serving the interests of certain clubs at the expense of justice"
The statement also criticized "the position of the general secretary of the federation being held by the president of one of the participating clubs," describing it as "a breach of the neutrality principle and a direct conflict of interests," which raises doubts about the integrity and objectivity of the decisions.
3. Weak technical system and disregard of clubs
The Orthodox strongly criticized the "weak technical and administrative system" of the federation, and the absence of any clear developmental vision for the game.
Lack of strategy: The statement stressed that the federation "has not succeeded in setting a clear technical strategy" to enhance the level of competition or to develop national coaching and refereeing skills.
Championship system: The club considered that "the current championship system has not contributed to enabling clubs to involve a larger number of young local players," which "limited the opportunities for discovering and honing talents".
Ignoring proposals: The statement revealed "neglect" of the federation towards written proposals presented by several clubs (including the Orthodox) to develop the rules and enhance justice, without any "real response". It also pointed to "a lack of transparency in the mechanism of distributing financial support"
