Ataman angry at playing time vs France: 'It's a great disrespect' / News - Basketnews.com

Ergin Ataman bashed FIBA for their decision to schedule Turkey's match against France at 12:00 CET on Saturday. He believes there are deeper motives behind both referees' decisions and the moves made by the upper management.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

After losing a close game against Spain yesterday, Turkey will face France in the Round of 16 on Saturday.

When the times of the games were announced yesterday, it became clear that the matchup would start the day at 12:00 CET. When the Turkish national team's head coach Ergin Ataman found out about it, he was quick to bash the decision.

"It is a great disrespect towards us that the time of the France match that we will play in Berlin, where we went as the 2nd place, was changed to 12 noon. The aim is to prevent Turkish audiences from filling the hall in Berlin," Ataman said.

Ataman had previously noted the lack of attendance in Group A matches that did not involve the host Georgia and promised the millions of Turks who live in Berlin would make Turkey the host country in the playoffs.

"I still believe that our expatriates will make sacrifices and fill the hall with crescent and star flags, even if it is a very inappropriate hour," the coach now noted.

Ataman also criticized the referees once again. The extravagant specialist especially did not like the technical foul call against Furkan Korkmaz.

"All the referees I have spoken to are of the same opinion. After seeing what we went through during the tournament and the attitude towards us, I see ulterior motives, not mistakes," the coach noted.

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