A few days after the unsportsmanlike act by Yiannis Gakkaloudis in Espero’s match with Renaissance for the National League 1, the experienced athlete took a stand through social media and apologized for his act, admitting that he should have reacted very differently.
At the same time, Gakkaloudis explained that at 29 years of career his has never been involved in anything similar, while he expressed her view of how it has been “humiliated” in recent years.
In detail what he wrote:
“Because I want to set things straight, I want to state the following. My act was definitely wrong and I apologize as he did from the first moment and to my team. 29 years in the stadiums I have never been accused of violence nor have I hit anyone, unlike many unsportsmanlike fouls and punches I have received here especially in the last two years and of course there are also on video.
I am not going anywhere to justify the move I made, because as older, more experienced, older, I had to react very differently to all the challenges that this particular athlete made to my teammates as well as to the world. There are comments from people, women, on our site and on other sites that confirm what I am stating. I have always been a player who, when I played with young children and especially with very young children, and I remind you of the phase with the little boy from Kavala, I deliberately fouled them to score points or let them score a basket. I received countless compliments on this move and it’s really what I want to keep doing.
For the past four years I have suffered incredible humiliation without speaking and everyone is looking to continue to watch me crumble and fall apart. Because I have a family behind me and a child, I won’t let anyone play with them. I will not bow my head no matter what all of you who call me what you want write on the sites. I’ve learned to live with them and you don’t drop me.
In closing, I will again apologize for this move. I certainly did not intend to hit or cause injury as I did not and certainly if I were to go back in time I would try in a different way to talk to this particular athlete so that he would understand that at his age he should not act like that on the field. Because indeed we adults must set a good example.
I hope all of you who will get this publication and are thirsty for blood will take it the right way and not put wrong titles and wrong readings. Stick to the apology as well as all that I have done to young players. I don’t want to harm this particular athlete. Maybe I did the same things at his age to play, it’s just good for him to avoid them”.
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.
