Will the TBF part ways with Ergin Ataman? Is approval being awaited from Ankara?

Following the elective general assembly at the Turkish Basketball Federation, Hidayet Türkoğlu and his administration were re-elected to office. President Türkoğlu's first agenda item was the Ergin Ataman crisis.

Last month, Fenerbahçe Beko announced that it would not send athletes to the national basketball team as long as Ergin Ataman, who made a 3-1 gesture referencing the derby match during the Galatasaray-Panathinaikos game, remains in charge of the Turkish A National Basketball Team. 

Ergin Ataman had apologized to the yellow-navy community just before Fenerbahçe's statement, but the Fenerbahçe management did not take a step back. TBF President Hidayet Türkoğlu also visited Fenerbahçe before the election to exchange ideas on the matter.

WILL THEY PART WAYS WITH ERGIN ATAMAN?

According to the report by Oğulcan Çoksayar from Karar, although the contract of Ergin Ataman, who was appointed as the head of the A National Team in 2022, is still ongoing, the TBF management wants to part ways with the experienced head coach.

The negative relationship with clubs and the harmony issues with President Hidayet Türkoğlu have become public knowledge. The fact that Ataman receives a salary for 12 months despite spending only 20 days a year with the team has also been among the factors straining relations. 

Ergin Ataman, who has a monthly salary of 35 thousand dollars, has not yet achieved any success with the A National Team. Most recently, after the heavy defeat in the match played in France, Ataman did not take his team to the friendly match to be played in Serbia, dragging the TBF management into another crisis. Following all these events, Türkoğlu and his team have begun to evaluate the possibilities for a process 'without Ataman'.

WILL ERDEM CAN COME?

In previous years, although Türkoğlu and his administration had reached an agreement with Ergin Ataman for the A National Team head coaching position, Ufuk Sarıca was appointed to the post due to the pressure from the then-Fenerbahçe President Aziz Yıldırım. At that time, Ergin Ataman had shown a great reaction to the situation. According to backstage information, it was learned that the tension remaining from that period between the two continues.

In the event that Ataman is dismissed, the name of Erdem Can is also being mentioned for the A National Team head coaching position.

NATIONAL STARS ARE A MAJOR FACTOR

Ergin Ataman's close ties with Ankara, while cold winds blow between him and Turkish Basketball Federation President Hidayet Türkoğlu, limit the management's room for maneuver. Ataman also sees national basketball players Ömer Faruk Yurtseven and Cedi Osman, whom he included at the beginning of the season in the Greek team Panathinaikos AKTOR where he is the head coach, as a trump card for the future of the A National Team.

Aiming to achieve success in EURO Basket 2025, Ergin Ataman plans to reflect his game structure more quickly in the A National Team by working with the critical names of the 12 Giant Men throughout the season. Furthermore, as a favorite of Ankara due to the opportunity to regulate Turkish-Greek relations through sports, Ataman uses the position he has acquired as a safeguard against the TBF.

News Source: 12punto