FIBA launched an investigation on September 5, 2022, following the allegations from both national federations about the events that took place on the field after the Turkey-Georgia match played in EuroBasket 2022, and launched a disciplinary investigation against Furkan Korkmaz, Bitadze, Sanadze and Shengelia.
Competing in the FIBA 2022 European Championship, our National Team lost to Georgia in the 3rd match with a score of 88-83 at the end of the 2nd overtime. Alperen Şengün scored 21 points, Sertaç Şanlı 15 and Cedi Osman finished the game with 13 points in 12 Giant Men, while Georgia’s Alexander Mamukelashvili scored 20 points. The fights that took place on the field and on the way to the locker rooms, rather than the defeat, upset the Ay Yıldızlı team and caused a reaction.
Things happened in the hallway
In the last period of the match, there was tension between the national player Furkan Korkmaz and the Georgian basketball player Duda Sanadze, and both players were disqualified. In the tension that developed after the foul against Furkan Korkmaz under the basket in the attack of the National Team, Sanedze went to the national player and entered into a dialogue. Furkan Korkmaz and Sanadze then attacked each other, while other players who intervened prevented the event from escalating.
Meanwhile, foreigners were thrown from the stands with Georgian fans towards the bench of the National Team. After the tension ended, the referees, who watched the footage from the side of the field, disqualified both players after giving technical fouls. The match, which stopped for about 15 minutes, continued from where it left off, but this time there were events in the corridor leading to the locker room.
At the end of the match, TBF Deputy Chairman Ömer Onan made very harsh statements and said:
“There may be tension in the match. Two players were kicked out before the match. While Furkan and our conditioner were going down the corridor, the players who did not play attacked together with the kicked player and the police. There is no attack on the player in the locker room. The match is over, we lost, 30 policemen on both sides of us in front of the locker room. There was a furious fight. Georgia’s official police had a physical fight with us. We are calling FIBA from here, very clear and clear. I also told FIBA’s officials. Nobody should deceive themselves or think anybody stupid. , they will bring it in front of us without missing a second. If they do not bring it, I also spoke with the President, Hidayet, we will leave this tournament. Here, 12 players are in the corridor; we will almost bump into each other with the Georgian police… We say ‘open up’, they do not open. Georgians come and talk. Akika is missing…’
‘If you cannot ensure the safety of the players, you will not do this job’
“All the cameras will be looked at one by one, and we will see the decision to be taken on it. Sorry if they don’t do this very quickly, but our own players are very valuable. We do not allow any damage to your hair. We will withdraw from the tournament as well… There is no such tournament. We held the European Championships for years, no one was harmed. The biggest mistake here is FIBA’s. There have been a thousand shortcomings since the day we arrived. Players go from the hotel to the hall in 45 minutes. If you cannot ensure the safety of the players, you will not do this job. I say it again; We also talked to the President of Hedayet. We will also talk to the consul… We will ask for security. Obviously they won’t protect us. As I said, they will bring the recordings of all the cameras in front of us, we will see what happened… Everyone will see it. If they do not provide these, we will leave here.”
‘There is also a rule error in the match!’
Onan said, “There is a rule mistake in the match,” and “There is no side to be caught from wherever you look at it. Players who don’t play, Shengelia… Do 3 people who don’t play go to the locker room? The player sitting on the side is coming. After the match, the police are pushing us from both sides, as if they were protecting us in our dressing room for some reason. We were going to fight fists… We say ‘go’, they don’t go… Don’t fight… I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. It is the gathering of such ignorant, self-conscious people together. But as I said, FIBA is responsible for this. We will see how FIBA will penalize. Let no one pass you by. We objected to the rule error. The captain’s signature was required. He immediately objected, we will deposit his money. Clear rule mistake in the European Championship. There is nothing to discuss. We’ll see if the game will be played again. There was a very clear rule mistake in the Germany-Lithuania match. We will see together.” used the phrases.
Disciplinary investigation from FIBA
FIBA launched an investigation on September 5, 2022, following allegations from both national federations about the events that took place on the pitch following the Turkey-Georgia match played at EuroBasket 2022. The statement came from FIBA after carefully examining the case materials, including CCTV videos.
In the statement made; It was noted that a disciplinary investigation was launched against Georgian basketball players Goga Bitadze, Duda Sanadze, Tornike Shengelia, Turkey A National Team player Furkan Korkmaz and related national federations for unsportsmanlike behavior.
It is stated that FIBA also requests all parties to state their positions in the investigation before any disciplinary action is taken.
