THE Ergkin Ataman furiously abandoned the press conference after Game 4 of the final Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 85-71 in the SEF. The Turkish “Greens” coach reacted strongly to a question about Evan Fournier’s gesture in Game 3 and left, while among others he spoke of racist insults against his country.
“I have already informed our ambassador, I told him to inform the Foreign Minister of what happened on the Olympics stadium, of the racist insults to my country,” Ergkin Ataman said before leaving the press conference that followed. The end of the fourth Olympics – Panathinaikos final, finding the champions of Piraeus of George Bardzokas, for the 15th time.
Ergkin Ataman’s statements at the press conference:
“I don’t want to look for excuses for the loss of the championship. Last year we came here, won a very crucial game and then won the championship in the 5th game. We lost our minds with what has been done outside the race. For the first time I see in a high -level league doing so. It may have happened in an amateur championship, but it is in no way justified to see them in such a league as the Greek league and between two top teams.
For me it is not acceptable what has happened here. What happened on our stadium by the main unprofessional is unacceptable. I am proud of our fans because they did not enter the pitch and did not stop the game, respecting basketball. Because in any other country, if a player made this gesture, people would enter the parquet and stop the game. But okay, we played the game and Olympiacos won.
And one last thing I want to say, I was informed that there were many insults at the expense of my country before the game started. The club managers were involved in stopping, but again no one took care of this in the match, neither the referees nor the federation, no one. Before the game I knew it could happen, so I told the Ambassador of Turkey (ed. In Greece) that today I will remain silent. I have already informed our ambassador, I told him to inform the Foreign Minister of what happened on the Olympic stadium, the racist insults against my country. The federation accepted them, the referees accepted them. I didn’t accept them in the previous match, but today I stayed in the parquet to fight the game.
I still mean that I love Greece. I saw that many people came today with Greek flags. Tell me one thing, they show the Greek flag, how many Greeks play at Olympiacos? Only one Greek. The others are false Greeks. Wokapap, Vezenkov who plays in the National Bulgaria, Naz Mitrou-Long, Dorsey, only one Greek. In Panathinaikos we have only Greek players. Sloukas, Mitoglou, Papapetrou, Kalaitzakis, Samondourov, a young player. And today they came with the Greek flag, to tease me as a Turk. Ok”.
For Fournier’s gesture and what Nan had done, both in Game 3, Ergkin Ataman commented and then left the press conference:
“If you accept what the Olympic player did, go to journalism elsewhere. If you accept as a journalist what he did and compare it to Nan’s fingers, go to journalism for what Fournier says on Instagram. “