76ers' Korkmaz attacked by Georgia players, security after ejection

Philadelphia 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz. Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Report: 76ers' Furkan Korkmaz attacked by Georgia players, security after ejection from Eurobasket game

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 9/4/22

On Sunday, disturbing reports emerged from the FIBA Eurobasket tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia.

After a Group A contest between Turkey and Georgia, Turkish officials allege that Georgian players and security personnel attacked Philadelphia 76ers' guard and Turkish national team member Furkan Korkmaz.

Late in the fourth quarter, Korkmaz and Georgia's Duda Sanadze were ejected after an on-court confrontation. Turkish federation vice president Omer Onan says a group including Sanadze, several inactive Georgia players, and security officers jumped Korkmaz after he left the court.

Sanadze, Furkan Korkmaz’a küfür ediyor. Furkan çıldırıyor. Furkan kadar sakin, olay çıkarmayan çıkarmayı sevmeyen bir adamı bile bu kadar sinirlendirmek. Sanadze pic.twitter.com/fpttSZlUkr
— Gökhan Sağanak (@gkhnsaganak) September 4, 2022

According to Ismail Senol of beIN Sports, the inactive players involved in the attack were Tornike Shengelia and Gogo Bitadze, who plays for the Indiana Pacers in the NBA.

While reports claim security guards were involved in the physical confrontation, Onan describes a fight after the game with "Georgia's official police."

"At the end of the match, 30 policemen each pushed us into a fight," Onan said in a statement released by the team. "We got into a fight with Georgia's official police."

Onan says Turkey reached out to FIBA's officials and has threatened to leave the tournament if footage of the incident isn't released.

"Let no one deceive themselves or think that we are stupid," Onan said. "They will bring us all the camera footage from that corridor minute by minute without anything missing. If those cameras do not come to us, we will leave this tournament."

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