Vassilis Spanoulis, the coach of the Greek team Peristeri, was ejected from the FIBA Champions League game played in Hungary against Szombathely.
Peristeri coach Vassilis Spanoulis was ejected from the FIBA Champions League game against Falco Szombathely after receiving two technical fouls.
An incident occurred with 6:02 remaining in the fourth quarter during a dispute with the table official, as Spanoulis revealed in the post-game press conference. The Greek basketball legend claims that he was subjected to inappropriate language from the official.
“In over 20 years in basketball, I have never seen a guy from the table [official] who is part of the game say, ‘F*** you.’ I have never seen that in my life,” emphasized Spanoulis after the game.
“This is a disgrace, first of all, for himself, then for basketball, and for the Falco organization, which is a very good organization with very good people and a very good coach whom I personally know. This is disgraceful. I have never heard anything like this.
“I asked him for a timeout only if they scored a basket. He called a timeout without them scoring because we committed a foul. I say to him, ‘Why are you calling a timeout?’ And he says to me, ‘F*** you.’ This is a disgrace for basketball.
“This is what we don’t need in basketball. This is a disgrace. I have nothing else to say. For a person from the table to say ‘F*** you’ to me. This is a disgrace. I have never seen this in my life, and I will never see it again,” thundered Spanoulis.
Despite the controversy, Peristeri managed to secure a win on the road with a score of 90-87.
Spanoulis explains why he was ejected #BasketballCLpic.twitter.com/cqzSdLDnxB
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) November 21, 2023