By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
BERLIN – The 2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four started with a bang, but not the one you would expect.
Several Turkish fans entered Uber Arena by force without tickets before the semifinal pitting Fenerbahce Beko against Panathinaikos Aktor.
Police arriving at the scene locked down doors and made arrests, including some Panathinaikos fans.
The Turkish fans were wearing black clothes and they managed to get into the arena, where they were confined in the police on the second floor.
One hour before tipoff, due to the violent incidents, the stands were still empty. It has to be noted that the police presence proved to be minimal, despite the roads leading to the Arena being blocked for security reasons, and couldn’t prevent the outburst of violence.
Another scary situation emerged at the arrival of Panathinaikos in the EuroLeague hotel on Wednesday. Tension was created between Fener fans and the Turkish head coach of the Greens, Ergin Ataman.
“I would like to thank everyone who supported me, starting from the EuroLeague CEO and German police. I don’t want to talk about small incidents with small people. I have great respect for Fenerbahce fans,” Ataman shared in a brief comment on the incident during the Final Four opening press conference on Thursday.
Opening Final Four action on the court on Friday, the tipoff for Panathinaikos versus Fenerbahce is scheduled for 18:00 CET. The second Semifinal with defending champion Real Madrid facing last season’s runner-up Olympiacos follows at 21:00 CET.