Galatasaray coach hits out at Turkish police’s ‘barbarian behavior’

BANDIRMA

Ataman said the home Banvit fans threw flares at visiting Galatasaray fans, which sparked the ugly scenes. AA Photo

Galatasaray Liv Hospital coach Ergin Ataman has criticized the police’s “barbarian behavior” during his team’s Turkish Basketball League semifinal playoff series match against Banvit on May 25.

Police staged a harsh intervention after crowd trouble erupted with minutes left to play at the end of game two of the semifinal series.

Ataman said the home Banvit fans threw flares at visiting Galatasaray fans, which sparked the ugly scenes.

“Security on the court and the police behaved in a barbarian way against our fans,” he said after the game. “I condemn the violence used against our fans.”

Ataman reiterated his words in a statement on the club’s official website. “Enough is enough. We need to stop it. There was no reason to make such a harsh intervention. We are very sorry,” he said.

Banvit won the game 69-67 to level the best-of-five series at 1-1. The third game of the series will be played in Istanbul on May 28.

During the crowd trouble, the players of both teams headed into their respective dressing rooms, and Ataman said Galatasaray would have considered a total walkout in protest if it had not been such a crucial playoff game.