Mersin club president Serdar Cevirgen was arrested during the EuroLeague Women’s Final Six after an altercation during his team’s game against Bourges.
The EuroLeague Women’s Final Six saw an unexpected and shocking turn of events on Wednesday night.
During the high-stakes quarterfinal matchup between Cimsa CBK Mersin and Tango Bourges, Serdar Cevirgen, the president of the Mersin basketball club, was involved in an incident that led to his arrest and a night in police custody.
The drama began when Mersin’s head coach, Ahmet Kandemir, was hit with a technical foul early in the second quarter.
Cevirgen, clearly upset by the foul call, stormed onto the court to confront the officials, causing a brief scuffle between him and several referees.
As the tension in the arena escalated, the crowd chanted "Fuera, fuera" ("out, out"), urging the president to leave the court. Police were quickly called in, and Cevirgen was escorted off the floor, marking a rare and unsettling scene for a EuroLeague game.
While it appeared that the situation was under control, things took a more serious turn in the hallway outside the court.
According to reports from El Periodico de Aragon, Cevirgen allegedly slapped the security coordinator of the arena, knocking his glasses off. This incident led to further confrontation, with Cevirgen reportedly being handcuffed by the authorities.
After spending the night in custody, Cevirgen was presented before a judge on Thursday. While the matter is currently in the hands of Spanish justice, he could face a fine and potentially be banned from the arena for the remainder of the tournament.
Serdar Cevirgen was eventually released on Thursday, with the intervention of several Turkish officials, including the consul of Barcelona.
L’Equipe also hinted that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have been involved in facilitating his release, but the details remain unclear.
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