While the NBA gears up for practice camp for the next 2022–2023 season, some basketball competition is taking place as EuroBasket 2022 began on Thursday.
Guard Furkan Korkmaz of the Philadelphia 76ers, who represents his home Turkey, got into a confrontation with guard Duda Sanadze during their matchup with Georgia on Saturday. The referees opted to expel Korkmaz after evaluating the outcome of the dispute, which resulted in an unpleasant scene where spectators started throwing cups at the court. Clearly enraged by what Sanadze had done to him, Korkmaz kept attacking him even as the authorities tried to calm the situation.
Omer Onan, vice president of the Turkish federation, verified the incident to reporters present at the occasion on Sunday.
Onan reported: “While Furkan Korkmaz was walking in the hallway to the locker rooms with our trainer, Georgia’s players who were not on the active roster attacked him together with the ejected player (Duda Sanadze) and the police.
“There should not be an attack on the player that goes to the locker room. At the end of the match, 30 policemen each pushed us into a fight. We got into a fight with Georgia’s official police,” Onan said. “I am calling out to FIBA and I have also told FIBA’s officials. Let no one deceive themselves or think that we are stupid. They will bring us all the camera footage from that corridor minute by minute without anything missing. If those cameras do not come to us, we will leave this tournament.”
Later, Turkey assistant coach Hakan Demir said that three players and a security person from Georgia went after Korkmaz in the locker room.
BREAKING: Per Turkey's assistant coach Hakan Demir there had been a fight between Furkan Korkmaz and three Georgian players and security personnel after the player was sent to the locker rooms
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 4, 2022
Turkey claimed that Korkmaz was attacked severely and they demands to see the CCTV footage to make things clear about the incident. They further added that if the management doesn’t get it, they will drop from the tournament.
Per the Turkish national team, Furkan Korkmaz was ATTACKED in the locker rooms. @TBF vice-president Omer Onan: "If the security camera footage don't come to us, We will leave this tournament" #Eurobasket2022
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 4, 2022
However, several reports are claiming that Korkmaz was unscathed during the entire incident.
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