This Sunday, while the French team was in the middle of a fight against Hungary (no joke), another fight – literally – took place on the side of Tbilisi in Georgia, where Turkish and Georgian players came to blows after a already very stormy meeting on the floor. Furkan Korkmaz maintains that he was attacked in the corridor leading to the locker room, while Tornike Shengelia (Georgian player withdrawn from the Euro) ensures that the opposing camp played a strong provocation. Back to the two versions.
But first, a little reminder for those who missed the main episode. On Sunday evening, Turkey therefore faced Georgia at home as part of the third day of Group A, a match ultimately won 88-83 by the locals after two very intense extra time. The meeting between the two neighbors was notably marked by the altercation between the Turkish Furkan Korkmaz and the Georgian player Duda Sanadze, who looked at each other eye to eye, forehead to forehead, in the fourth quarter. The following ? An expulsion of the two men, but above all an altercation which later turned into a barfight when returning to the locker room.
Furkan Korkmaz getting into it with Georgia’s Duda Sanadze
Fans started throwing cups onto the court ????
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Tornike Shengelia’s version
“A terrible situation has been created out of nothing and it’s unfortunate how it’s been handled. It could easily have been avoided on both sides.
On the one hand, we could have reacted differently, without getting carried away by our emotions. We should have reacted better to the provocations. We reacted as human beings, as men and we demonstrated our reaction.
On the other hand, when a conflict starts on the floor, it should always stay there. You shouldn’t ask players from the other team, in front of their friends, family and thousands of fans, to go down the tunnel to keep fighting.
Moreover, when we reached our locker room, the provocations continued from the other side of the tunnel. We were called names and they pushed us to fight with hand signs.
And then the statements that were made to the media from the Turkish side, showed a very different version, which provoked aggression from Turkish fans against us and our families. Attacks that included very disturbing messages and death threats. »
La version of Furkan Korkmaz
“You saw a small part of what happened on the pitch. We went head-to-head, and he [Duda Sanadze, ndlr.] started talking shit about me. I’m not going to let anyone talk to me like that.
During a match, yes that’s part of the game. You say something and then it responds, but I couldn’t accept the things he might have said. I reacted as a human being, as a player, as a man.
I was with my physical trainer in the tunnel. As soon as I tried to get into the locker room, I saw three Georgian players and two members of security running towards us. We started exchanging punches. That’s basically what happened.
It was like a street fight. There were no words or conversation. They just came towards us to try to attack us. Of course, as men, we reacted by trying to defend ourselves. I think it’s a security issue. But I don’t know if it’s a security issue or if they were just lax with their players.
We understand that they are playing at home, but that is unacceptable. What happens on the pitch is ok, but we should talk more about what happens outside. »
While Turkey has outright threatened to leave the EuroBasket following this incident, it is recalled that an investigation by FIBA is currently underway to determine the accuracy of the facts and take the necessary sanctions accordingly. Next episode soon.
Sources texte : Georgian Basketball Federation Instagram, BasketNews
#FIBA dismissed the Turkish protest for clock operations error because it didn’t affect the outcome of the game
Investigation opened for the locker rooms incident pic.twitter.com/i563pX0Atf
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 5, 2022