By Antonis Stroggylakis / astroggylakis@eurohoops.net
ABU DHABI – After the Final Four of the 2024-25 installment of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and coaching Panathinaikos Aktor in a third-place game versus archrival Olympiacos, Ergin Ataman talked about the latest incidents between him and the supporters of Fenerbahce Beko, and also suggested adjustments in the schedule of the annual championship-crowning tournament.
“More than 200 people were insulting me, my mother,” he opened up about Fener fans entering the lobby of the designated hotel and creating incidents similar to last year’s Final Four in Berlin, “I would like to thank Fenerbahce president Ali Koc for trying to stop these people. But I would like to ask Euroleague, in which kind of serious competition in Europe of the world, fans can come inside the hotel to insult a coach.”
“In which arena can you put Olympiacos fans immediately behind our bench. You know this is a problem with these crowds,” he added on the placement of the supporters of the Reds in Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena for the Semifinals opposite Fenerbahce, “I hope EuroLeague can use the experience of what happened and be more serious in these situations.”
The 59-year-old Turkish expert continued by sharing his opinion on the schedule of the Final Four.
“We played on Friday at six o’clock. You play the whole season, spend money, and end up playing at six in the afternoon in the Semifinals. Let’s change this and make one game on Thursday in primetime with only the fans that are supporting those two teams, manage these situations, and on Friday play the second semifinal game in primetime,” he proposed, “You can make more money.”
“A lot of fans can’t find tickets,” Ataman explained financial projections.
“And then on Saturday, you prepare for the Final, you cancel the third-place game, and play on Sunday,” he added during the postgame press conference following the latest edition of the Greek eternal derby on Sunday.