Sfairopoulos confronts Maccabi fans: 'When your child fails at something, do you beat him?' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: BasketNews.lt/D.Lukšta Credit BasketNews.lt/D.Lukšta

Yesterday Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (7-7) suffered their fourth consecutive Turkish Airlines EuroLeague defeat, losing 74-85 against UNICS Kazan (7-7) at home.

Player of the Game EFF 30 Lorenzo Brown Points 26 Accuracy 10-19 Rebounds 6 Assists 6

After the losing effort, Ioannis Sfairopoulos had some words to say about Maccabi fans' behavior. According to Roi Cohen of Sport5, the Greek specialist even received calls to "step down" from the crowd.

"The fans should support us in a bad game too. I do not understand the reaction and I do not like this behavior. We are Maccabi, we are not only happy when we win. Do teams not lose games?" Sfairopoulos commented on boos and hisses from the stands.

Via Roi Cohen's report, at the end of the game, some of the yellow fans called for the bench boss to be fired when he benched Oz Blayzer.

The Greek mastermind explained Blayzer's situation in the post-game conference, saying it was a tactical decision related to the opponents' lineup.

Then, Ioannis Sfairopoulos came back to the supporters' theme and was straightforward: "When your child fails at something, do you beat him? When we defeat Barcelona, everyone is happy and supportive of us, but the team needs the fans the most while a bad stretch is occurring.

This behavior hurts Maccabi, hurts the team. If they (fans) want to continue like this, it is their right to do so. I will continue to do my best," said the 54-year-old.

Oz Blayzer, whom the situation was built around, did not emphasize the substitution: "I am not listening to the crowd, I'm focused on the court. It was a tactical substitution and it's okay, I get it. It's part of being a player on the team. I have no problem with that, I concentrate on how I can help the team when I'm on the floor," spoke the Israeli forward regarding the coach's decision.

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