EuroBasket 2022, Korkmaz on the incident in the corridors: “Five people attacked us, we defended ourselves”

Furkan Korkmaz and Duda Sanatze became the faces of Turkey-Georgia for the wrong reasons. The two got into an altercation during the game, during which the referee threw them both out of the game. It continued in the corridors outside the dressing room when five people attacked Korkmaz and the team’s coach.

The Turkey and Sixers player commented on the incident, stating that security personnel were not trying to prevent the evil, but to create more.

His statements in detail:

“You saw what happened on the floor. We faced each other and he started swearing at me. I won’t let anyone swear at my face. In the games they say different things, but I wouldn’t allow “I reacted as a person, as an athlete and as a man. As I crossed the corridor, the caretaker was with me. Just as we were trying to get into the dressing room, I saw three Georgian players and two security guards.” People ran towards us. We started exchanging punches. That’s exactly what happened. . It was like a fight in the street. It nothing was said. People came up to us and just attacked us. We were just trying to defend ourselves. Like men do. It was a safety issue. We know they are playing at home but that was unacceptable.

Our coach just wanted to be by my side. If it wasn’t for him, three Georgian players would have jumped on me and attacked me. Greater and more serious things could have been done. First they came and badmouthed me, no one badmouths me and those who do will get the appropriate response. In such a case, one cannot act blindly in such cases, it is wrong.

When I went to the dressing room there was no security. When we went there, three players among them and Sanaje attacked us along with two security guards. They started hitting us. It was like a street fight. Five people attacked us and we defended ourselves. It was a disaster. The purpose of the security guards was not good. They made no attempt to prevent events.”