EuroBasket 2025 semifinals schedule
Sept. 10, 2025
Spanoulis responds to Ataman about Giannis: « He receives more fouls than he commits »
EuroBasket - Vassilis Spanoulis replies to Ergin Ataman's statements regarding the officiating of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek coach defends his star ahead of the Greece-Turkey clash for a spot in EuroBasket 2025 finals.
Photo Credit : Lilian Bordron
The controversy surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s officiating continues to make waves before the decisive match between Greece and Turkey. Vassilis Spanoulis, Greek national team coach and AS Monaco head coach, responded with a smile to his Turkish counterpart Ergin Ataman’s comments, showing he expected this reaction.
Questionable offensive fouls according to the Greek coach
The Greek coach didn’t back down from criticism and maintained his initial first-round statements about the referees’ treatment of his star. « We expected this from Coach Ataman. Ataman is a great coach. He’s been doing this for many years, trying to influence people’s minds. I didn’t say it to influence anyone. I said it because it’s reality, » Spanoulis stated.
The Greek coach even suggests video analysis to support his claims: « Let’s all sit together and watch the games to see how many fouls Giannis doesn’t receive, how many are unsportsmanlike, and how many offensive fouls he has committed. »
Spanoulis goes further by even contesting the offensive fouls called against Antetokounmpo. « I don’t think he gets away with offensive fouls. They’ve also given him many charging calls that weren’t the right calls, » he explains, citing a specific example against Spain where the defender was inside the semicircle line.
For the Greek coach, the officiating is actually going in the opposite direction: « I think they call more offensive fouls on him and don’t give him the fouls he should receive, given his style of play. Because Giannis is a very aggressive player who drives to the basket, and two or three players keep hitting his arms. »
Despite this controversy, Spanoulis made sure to pay tribute to Ataman, with whom he maintains good relations: « I respect Coach Ataman, we have a very good relationship, we’ve had many conversations, and I want to thank him publicly for the kind words he said about me. »
The verdict will come on Friday, September 12 at 8 PM French time, when Greece and Turkey face off for their ticket to the EuroBasket 2025 final.
Sylvain Sultat suit la NBA au quotidien, entre performances individuelles, dynamiques collectives et grandes histoires de la ligue. Sur BeBasket, il décrypte l’actualité américaine avec passion et régularité, toujours à l’affût des tendances qui font bouger le monde du basket.
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