In their second appearance in this year’s Women’s EuroCup, Athinaikos suffered a defeat against Besiktas in the group stage (87-84). However, the discussion after the game did not focus so much on the sporting aspect, but on a post that sparked strong reactions.

After the match, the social media managers of the Turkish team posted an image considered offensive toward Athinaikos’ players. Specifically, the artwork depicted two Greek players as waitresses “serving” the Besiktas players, accompanied by an ironic comment. Among the Besiktas players featured in the artwork was the Greek international Mariella Fasoula.

The post immediately provoked a reaction from the Greek side, which asked Besiktas to remove the content and issue an apology. Nevertheless, the Turkish club officials refused to delete the post, causing further dissatisfaction and commentary on social media.

In a statement, Athinaikos made it clear that they would appeal to FIBA and request sanctions against the other party.

Full statement from the club:

“Immediately after the conclusion of Athinaikos Qualco’s game in Istanbul against Besiktas, a highly provocative social media post from the official account of the Turkish club depicted two of our players as waitresses serving the Turkish team’s players. Without wanting to escalate the issue but with zero tolerance toward provocations and demeaning behavior toward our athletes, we contacted Besiktas and requested that the post be immediately removed.

The first excuse given was that it was a response to a story from our team, where on the day of the draw we had arranged a meeting with Mariella Fasoula in three months – an explanation that is at least laughable and superficial. It was our pleasure to face the Greek center on the court, as was made clear in all references to the game in recent days. In the second communication, the response was that the management is centralized and that the post could not and would not be removed.

More than two hours after our communication, the post is still on Besiktas’ social media, and we are forced to publicly express our displeasure over a phenomenon whose repetition after every encounter between Greek and Turkish teams, whether at club or national level, ceases to seem coincidental.

An official complaint regarding the incident will follow from our club to FIBA, and we will continue to advocate that sports should unite people, and especially in very difficult and dangerous times, we should all take care not to cross the thin red line. We thank Besiktas for their otherwise excellent hospitality on all levels, and once again, we congratulate them on their victory.

P.S. We will not reproduce the highly offensive and demeaning post.”