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Turkish head coach Ergin Ataman of Greek basketball club Panathinaikos was verbally harassed by a group of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of Thursday’s EuroLeague game between the two teams in Tel Aviv, Israel.
As seen in footage shared by the club, the incident occurred outside Menora Mivtachim Arena, where the visiting Panathinaikos delegation was arriving for the game.
Over 300 Israeli fans had reportedly gathered near the players’ entrance, chanting aggressively as the Greek team arrived. Ataman, who exited the team bus amid the unrest, was quickly escorted to the locker room by security personnel..
In a message posted on social media, Panathinaikos strongly condemned the conduct of the home fans, stating, "More than 300 Maccabi fans waited just outside the locker room entrance and hurled insults at our head coach Ergin Ataman and the rest of the team. We denounce this behavior."
The verbal harassment continued inside the arena, where Maccabi supporters loudly booed Ergin Ataman when he stepped onto the court..
Following the match, where Maccabi Tel Aviv secured a narrow 75-71 victory, Ataman voiced sharp criticism of the EuroLeague for what he described as a lack of professionalism and security safeguards.
"We fought well, we defended well. We had many chances to win the game, including nine open three-point shots in the final quarter, but only made one," Ataman said in a post-game statement.
He continued, "That’s the basketball part. But this is not basketball. We come here to do our job, and 10,000 people wait for me in front of the locker room entrance, insulting me for 40 minutes during the match. This doesn’t happen in the NBA. From now on, I will no longer compare EuroLeague to the NBA. Referees, league officials—no one does anything. Fine, keep doing it this way."
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