Ergin Ataman's harsh reaction to Olympiacos: 'They cursed at Turkey'

The third match of the Greek Basketball League final series between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos has been postponed due to security concerns following the second game.

Panathinaikos AKTOR head coach Ergin Ataman had reacted sharply to the abusive chants directed at Turkey during the match.

Ataman made statements regarding the events during an appearance on TRT Spor.

Regarding the incidents at the match, Ergin Ataman said, "The Olympiacos-Panathinaikos series in Greece is being played with great rivalry. We won the match played on our home court on Friday evening and took a 1-0 lead. Last night, the match started in a very tense atmosphere with incidents. When unspeakable curses and insults were directed at our club president's family, the president reacted strongly and left the court. Throughout the match, there were very serious insults and curses directed at Panathinaikos. In the final period of the match, when heavy abusive chants directed at Turkey began, I reacted to it. I told the referee that he should stop it. I said that what the Olympiacos fans were doing was racist chanting. He didn't pay any attention, and when I entered the court to react, he disqualified me. I made a harsh statement after the match. Because this is racist chanting," he said.

Ataman continued his words as follows:

"You can target individuals and clubs, but you cannot direct your hostility here against a country. Especially in an environment where I am present, you cannot do it against Turkey. I gave my reaction to this. The match that was supposed to be played on our court on Wednesday has been postponed. The Greek government has called for a meeting and they want calm. If they cannot achieve this, the cancellation of the series is being discussed."

Stating that he had not encountered such an incident in Greece before, Ataman used the following expressions:

"It is something done collectively by the fanatical, so-called ultra fans of Olympiacos. It is not an individual incident. I asked our executives and they told me the same. It appears to be a collectively performed act of abuse. This is, of course, rudeness on the part of Olympiacos fans. We cannot say that Greek fans did this. My reaction is to the use of fanaticism and hooliganism in this way. We have had nothing against the Greek people, and we cannot have anything anyway. I have never encountered such things in Greece. Messages are coming in from social media. The problem here is that a country is being cursed at in a sports arena."

Ergin Ataman also assessed, "My expectation is for the authorities to take precautions on this matter. To take measures against racist chants, to warn the clubs, and to provide guarantees. We are already the team with the advantage in the series. We have the home-court advantage. The situation being 1-1 has no importance. If we win the third match, we will go to Piraeus for the fourth match. Such things did not happen on our court. I think the ministry will also hold a meeting on this issue. If it happens again, they will cancel the series. This is what Olympiacos wants. Because we are at an advantage in every aspect. Perhaps I think this could be a planned thing they resorted to in a planned way. Olympiacos is in turmoil after losing to Monaco in the Final-Four, where they went as favorites. There are many speculations. I think they went down this path to eliminate these," he concluded.