Gala coach defends his right to slap his own players

Galatasaray Liv Hospital, who have endured difficult times recently, are again embroiled in controversy after their defeat against Eskişehir Basket on Sunday. Coach Ergin Ataman wasn't happy during the game when his team surprisingly lost 66-61 against a team anchored to the bottom of the Turkish Basketball League. According to Turkish media, Ataman went directly into the locker room at half time and slapped the 19-year-old player Göktürk Ural twice. It is alleged that Ataman was upset by Ural's inattentive play and poor performance. Göktürk Ural is said to be pressing a complaint against his coach. Ataman confirmed the slapping and said, "Yes, I did that. But it was just an advisory, soft slap. Besides, I have the right to both insult and to slap my players in the locker room!"

Galatasaray will need to get their heads back on to court action as they take on Spanish giants Barcelona tonight. The two sides met in the playoffs of the EuroLeague last season when the Spanish side made short work of the Yellow-Reds, winning the series in three games without dropping a game. Moreover, Barcelona have won all five of their previous meetings with an average deficit of 25 points. Considering Galatasaray's perilous state of affairs, the fixture could hardly have come at a worse time. Not only did they lose at the weekend, while dealing with "Slapgate," Gala are also in danger of falling out of the EuroLeague. The Istanbul side were sitting pretty several weeks ago after they beat Red Star Belgrade in Serbia when Ataman confidently said that his team wouldn't find it difficult to advance to the next round. Since then, however, they haven't won a game and have slipped to a 2-4 record. Recent history would suggest that they will struggle to improve that record tonight. Gala do at least welcome back Carlos Arroyo who missed Gala's narrow loss to reigning champions Maccabi Tel Aviv last week.