Once again, Mr Ergin Ataman referred to the refereeing of his first match Panathinaikos AKTOR with the Maccabiduring the media day before Game 2 of the series (04/25, 21:15).
The Turkish coach analyzed all the phases in which he believes the “greens” were wronged, while he then expressed his opinion that the “six stars” are a better team and will show it in the next matches against the Israelis.
We remind you that according to Israeli media, Mr Ataman he refused to answer a question from an envoy from the Middle Eastern country, causing tensions to rise.
What he said in detail:
“We made a mistake at the end. This is a fact. It is unacceptable to miss so many free throws. We made some easy mistakes, especially in the last few minutes. (It cost us) and the problem Nan had with the fouls. That’s basketball. I stand by what I said after the game.
This match was not clean and I would like to show a specific position, in this foul that was given in the attempt for the three point. Maybe you can call a foul here, maybe, but after this point there is no foul by Costa Antetokounmpo. It is very clear. Nothing. There is nothing. Baldwin flops and gets three shots. Okay, let’s continue. Nothing. There is no contact.
Here (pp. shows another phase) there is a foul by Rivero on Sluka. It might happen. But if you give Costa (Antetokounmpo) a foul on Baldwin on the three-pointer, what’s that? What is Nimbo doing (ss. in Vildosa’s shot?). Isn’t that a foul?
The most questionable whistle for me though is in possession of that ball. The referee on the line gives the ball to us. Then this Spanish referee (sr. Juan Carlos GarcÃa) who is there in the middle of the field where it is impossible to see what has happened, comes and changes the opinion of the other referee, without them seeing any replay. Dinos was inside when he touched the ball. But where is Nimbo? Off the field. This referee made the right decision, but the other one decided and gave the ball to Maccabi. How; Why; The others may be human errors, but this is not.
Let’s move on to the next phase. Foul by Grigonis. Very questionable. OK, umpire’s mistake. Human error. And here Slukas doesn’t even commit a foul. He is in front of the ball. Back in center court, Baldwin takes the contact and flops. Slukas tried to avoid the contact, but the referee again gives a foul and three shots. Please. This is ridiculous for basketball.
Another phase at 81-83 with 3 minutes left. Now look at Matias. The Spanish referee, who didn’t give us the ball before, decides not to give Lessor a foul. Watch the replay. Watch the foul on the replay. And the referee was there. The Spanish referee did not whistle it. Is it human error? I do not think so. The same referee.
Now look here at 75-73. Rivero takes steps. That’s all. To me, we made a lot of human errors, but those whistles weren’t clean. 0-1. No problem. We checked the game. Many times we had the chance to clear the game, but with these ridiculous whistles and our own mistakes and missed shots, we lost the game. 0-1 doesn’t matter at all. We will win the series. That’s all I want to say.
In the regular season we lost the match here in overtime and I was sent off with two technical penalties. I don’t want to go back to this game. Now we are playing in the playoffs. We have no pressure. We want to play clean basketball. We are a better team than Maccabi and from tomorrow we will start to show that.
I don’t take back what I said yesterday, neither about the referee, nor about the match, nor about my statement about the Final Four.”
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
