Depending on who you ask, players from Georgia and Turkey got into a physical altercation off the floor.
Everyone agrees that it began on the court when Georgia's Duda Sanadze and 76ers Furkan Korkmaz were removed following a confrontation.
Sanadze and many other Georgian players, as well as Georgian security personnel, attacked Korkmaz as he attempted to return to the locker room, continuing the brawl that had begun there (Georgia is hosting Group A games).
According to BasketNews.com, Korkmaz explained his version of events.
You caught a glimpse of some of the action on the court... He began talking s*** to me as soon as we came face to face. I won't allow someone to insult me in front of others.
"Our fitness guy was with me when I spoke to the tunnel. We were attempting to make our way to the locker room when I saw three Georgian players and two security personnel running toward us as we came out of the tunnel. We got physical and started punching each other. That is what took place. It resembled a street brawl. There was no dialogue or talking. People were trying to attack us as they just came at us. Of course, we responded and tried to defend ourselves; that is exactly what guys do. It's a security issue, too, in my opinion. I'm not sure if it's a security issue, though, or if they were just being tolerant of their players.
Although we may appreciate that they are at home, this is inappropriate. The events in the court are acceptable, but we ought to discuss them more.
One of the other players involved in the assault, Georgia's Tornike Shengelia, shared his viewpoint on what transpired in an Instagram post via the Georgian Basketball Federation.
On the one hand, we had the option to act differently and control our emotions. We ought to have been more effective at resisting the temptation to respond. As men and as human beings, we responded and showed our response.
On the other hand, if a dispute arises in court, it should continue there. You shouldn't order players from opposing teams to continue fighting in the tunnel in front of their friends, families, and crowds of spectators.
Additionally, the provocations continued from the other side of the tunnel as we made our way to the locker room. We received a barrage of insults and hand signals telling us to go fight there. Additionally, the statements that the Turkish team has given to the media have presented a very different picture, which has stoked animosity from Turkish supporters toward our families and us. Aggression includes death threats and unpleasant messages.
This has many grave allegations, macho postures, and aggressive deeds. Although FIBA looks into the incident, how much confidence should be placed in that investigation depends on how much you believe FIBA to be an objective judge.
There were no injuries, and the incident hasn't yet resulted in fines or punishments.
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