Ergin Ataman's reaction to Olympiakos General Manager Lepeniotis

Following the events that took place in the Greek Basketball League final series, where Olympiakos defeated Panathinaikos at OAKA and took a 2-1 lead, Panathinaikos Head Coach Ergin Ataman made harsh statements. Responding to Olympiakos General Manager Nikos Lepeniotis' statements after the match, Ataman used the following statements in his post on his social media account:

"My response to the statement of the Olympiakos general manager targeting me after the match and provoking the Olympiakos fans against me is as follows: You did not even apologize for the racist insults against my country that were made in an organized manner throughout the match on your field 5 days ago. I was questioned, accused and punished in a way that I have never experienced in my 30-year career with the sports court that you had set up in the federation building the day before yesterday's match. Moreover, I only dealt with the allegations of three Olympiakos lawyers here. I have never backed down and I will not. I expressed the disrespect you showed both to my country and my club in an interview I gave after the match. If I encounter a similar situation, I will show the same reaction without hesitation. Although I was faced with an unprecedented daring practice in sports history, I was there because of my respect for the Greek authorities. Matches are won or lost, but the behavior of you, your fans and athletes who have no share of sports ethics has gone down in European sports history as a black mark. In your last statement, You said, 'We came out of the forest alive'. No one, I repeat emphatically, no one, can refer to OAKA, the most modern basketball hall in Europe, as 'Forest', or to the 20 thousand Panathinaikos fans who came to support their team and of whom I am proud, as 'Animals'. I will not warn you again about this. Look for the reasons for your guilt not elsewhere, but in your own behavior that is not befitting of sports.

Olympiakos General Manager Nikos Lepeniotis said after the away game against Panathinaikos, "It was literally a jungle, but we came out of that jungle alive, victorious and proud."

UAV

Editor: News Center