Sagardoy's report justified the dismissal of the ACB president for the irregular collection of bonuses.

The disciplinary dismissal of Antonio Martín Espina , president of the ACB, was justified , according to the legal report commissioned by the entity itself. The investigation , following an internal complaint filed last April, was discussed at the Extraordinary Assembly held on July 10. The report accused both the president and his general director, José Miguel Calleja Bermejo, of receiving irregular bonuses and "degrading treatment" of various employees.

The report, to which El Confidencial has had access, signed by the Sagardoy law firm and dated June 17 , described the collection of variable remuneration as a "very serious offense," as it was not reviewed by internal oversight bodies. The dossier was not shown to the 16 clubs currently comprising the league at the Assembly , this outlet has been able to confirm. Despite this, the meeting saw a close relationship around Antonio Martín at the end of his term. The electoral process will begin on the 24th of this month with an assembly.

The Good Governance Commission , formed by Bàsquet Girona, Bilbao Basket, and Bàsquet Club Andorra in rotating turn, commissioned the external report from the firm . After receiving the dossier, they met with Martín and Calleja, who defended their management. In the January payroll, the president received an incentive of 60,000 euros for supposedly exceeding his target by 110%. "The payment of this variable remuneration to the President was ordered by the General Director, Mr. José Miguel Calleja, to the Financial Director, Mr. Ignacio Muñoz Conesa, without the President verifying the legality of the accrual or informing the governing bodies of the ACB ," the dossier states.

The report states that this objective was not met and that Antonio Martín "in his capacity as the top executive of the ACB should have exercised the necessary diligence to ensure strict compliance with his contractual conditions, " which constituted "a breach of good faith under the contract." "This constitutes a very serious breach, which in this specific case is aggravated by the position of maximum trust held by the President, which in our opinion would justify the termination of the contract for this reason, as set out in the tenth clause, in fine, of his employment contract, which expressly includes disciplinary dismissal as a cause for termination of the contract , in accordance with the common regulations and procedures provided for in Article 55 of the Workers' Statute," it states.

In other seasons, this bonus was paid without informing the Assembly, but according to the dossier, in this case it was justified by meeting objectives and, in addition, they point out that there was "a circumstance of concealment with the order given to the Financial Director by the General Director , so that he would transmit the payment order to Human Resources."

"We must emphasize that this special relationship between senior management is based precisely on the trust placed by the employer, in this case the ACB, in this senior management position," they conclude. The report was not shown at the Extraordinary General Meeting, but the ACB supported Antonio Martín . In a corporate statement, the entity characterized the leak of the internal complaint as "a self-interested intention to damage the proper functioning and reputation of the ACB."

"The president and general director of the ACB have the unanimous support of the clubs , and consequently, we continue to support the performance of their duties until proven otherwise," the statement stated. This newspaper confirmed that there was anxiety within the clubs regarding the internal complaint, especially regarding the League's image and the imminent call for elections.

Regarding the accusations of "humiliating treatment" in the internal complaint, the dossier does not identify any cases of harassment against José Antonio Martín Beltrán , the ACB's Director of Refereeing, despite criticizing his behavior for "verbal abuse" by using insults such as "idiot." Particular attention is paid to the conversation they had on December 17, 2024.

—I have to talk to you, because I'm fed up with the presidents calling me every day because of you , — said Antonio Martín.

—I'd like to talk to you too.

—You're late. I told you to come every two weeks, and you're not listening, so I'm urgently calling you to come to Madrid. Come urgently, or you won't have time to make it.

The meeting between the two, despite its urgency and always according to Martín Beltrán's version, did not take place until January 28, 2025.

"I have very limited time. I don't know why I'm even listening, because I had zero confidence in you. You've let me down," the president explained.

"You've been waiting a month and a half to meet with me. If it was such an important issue, like the fact that you have zero trust in me, maybe we should have talked sooner, " Martín Beltrán countered.

The two met again three weeks later. The Director of Arbitration criticized him for mistreating people , including the secretary of the AEBA, Luis Manuel Sancha. Sagardoy's report, however, sees no evidence confirming harassment , despite criticizing such behavior: "In view of the facts previously established, and in the opinion of these lawyers, they do not meet the requirements demanded by doctrine and jurisprudence to qualify them as workplace harassment."

"The conduct observed and attributable to Mr. President occurred sporadically and was not recurrent , nor was it persistent over time, but rather were isolated episodes within the framework of conversations and meetings held in less than a month and a half (...) Given the absence of workplace harassment in the observed events, we consider that they could not constitute a very serious offense that would justify the termination of Mr. President's contract."