By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
You have probably seen the viral video by now, with coach Ergin Ataman denying to leave his bench after being ejected and coach Dimitris Itoudis trying to calm him down in order for the prep game between Turkey and Greece to be continued.
It was an instant classic, Ataman is notorious for his reactions and some of the calls in the game were questionable, to write the least.
Coach Itoudis saving the daypic.twitter.com/coxANvJZkU
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) August 19, 2022
With that being said, coach Ataman had a proposal to make after the game: “Just like in football, everything in national teams basketball must be under FIBA’s control. In football, the FIFA institution sends its official referees to friendly matches between the countries. That should also be done in basketball. We see Greek referees in Greece and Serbian referees in Serbia manage the preparation games. I am not comfortable with the fact that three Greek referees have managed the game here”.
And once more Ergin Ataman added his two cents on the issue of the ongoing cold war between EuroLeague and FIBA that results in conflicting scheduling during the season between games of the top club competition in Europe and national team qualifiers: “We faced Slovenia in Turkey, it was a great match in front of a fully packed hall. Afterward, I watched the game between Serbia and Slovenia, which was also a great match. That’s why FIBA and EuroLeague need to find a solution to their problems. This also applies to the international games we will play after the start of the season. Yes, maybe NBA players don’t have a chance to make the national team in the regular season, but at least EuroLeague players and coaches need to participate in the games”.
Especially this issue is a problem that European basketball has learned to live with and despite talks between the two sides, there’s no solution on the horizon.