Anadolu Efes officially condemn TBF punishment for Shane Larkin / News - Basketnews.com

Anadolu Efes issued a statement in which they hardly disagree with the Turkish Basketball Federation's decision to punish Shane Larkin by taking away his local player status.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

The Shane Larkin and Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) story got a new twist.

Shane Larkin

Team:Anadolu Efes IstanbulPosition:PGAge:31Height:182 cmWeight:80 kgBirth place:Cincinati, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Anadolu Efes Istanbulissued an official statement explaining why it disagrees with the TBF decision to take away Larkin's local player status in the Turkish Basketball League.

The Turkish club announced that the club tried to appeal this decision regarding Larkin's case, but the appeal was overruled.

Earlier,Larkin and Scottie Wilbekin, who also missed his duty to play for the Turkish national team, were given a five-game suspension in the Turkish League (BSL) and a 90,000 Turkish Lira fine (~3140€).

Wilbekin and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul witnessed the same fate. Even though Fenerbahce made an appeal, it was also rejected, meaning Wilbekin lost his local player status, too.

Turkey lost to Croatia in the final of the Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul and lost all chances to go to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Full Anadolu Efes statement

Anadolu Efes Sports Club has served Turkish Basketball successfully and unselfishly throughout the years, being one of the pioneers of Turkish Basketball by developing players and achieving success in all areas of its competition.

Our National Team has always been a priority for our Club, irrespective of our competitive responsibilities. Even in scheduling conflicts, our Club has always shown support and unselfishness in matters regarding our National Team.

As is widely known, a situation regarding our player Shane Larkin emerged this summer during the Olympic Pre-Qualifiers and the preparatory games before the tournament in question.

Our player Shane Larkin joined the National Team camp at the exact time asked of him, informed the relevant authorities about his injury problem, and took part in the health controls performed by the doctors of the National Team.

The medical tests showed that Shane Larkin had bone edema in one of his knees, and he, therefore, did not join the National Team in their games.

Even though the MRI scans and doctors' reports were submitted to the relevant authorities at the right time with the right style of communication, the Turkish Basketball Federation has punished our player with a very heavy sanction.

The sanction received by our player has deeply affected both our Club and the player himself. Our Team's season planning, roster balance, and budgetary situation received a heavy blow that is impossible to compensate for.

Our Club, which developed a myriad of players for Turkish Basketball, which provides players for each under-age category National Team, and which is among the clubs that have sent the greatest number of athletes to the senior men's National Team, was the side that was harmed the most in this process.

After this process, it saddened us to learn that our objection to the appellate court about our player's punishment was overruled today.

Despite all this, Anadolu Efes Sports Club will continue to support all steps and plans to improve our National Team's situation in all forthcoming tournaments and organizations.

We present this punishment, which we believe is totally unjustified, to the discretion of the public opinion.

Thank you for reading us! Help us even more.