Giannis Antetokounmpo apologized to Türkiye! Joint post with Alperen

Greece's star player Giannis Antetokounmpo, who lost to Turkey in the semi-finals of EuroBasket 2025, had a controversy with national basketball player Alperen Şengün after the match and the two did not shake hands while receiving the award for the 'Best 5 of the Tournament'. In a live broadcast on social media, Antetokounmpo responded to the reaction of Turkish users by saying, "Take the damn Turkish flag and get out of here."

BIG REACTION

Germany became the EuroBasket champion, Turkey finished 2nd and Ergin Ataman was named the "best coach" of the tournament. However, even though the tournament is over, Giannis Antetokounmpo's words against the Turkish flag drew reactions.

APOLOGIZED TO TÜRKİYE

Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo apologized for his remarks about the Turkish flag on his social media account.

"The star basketball player apologized to Turkey in his post and used the following statements:

"During my live broadcast, I used an inappropriate expression while responding to someone who made disrespectful comments. It was never my intention to offend anyone. I am deeply sorry for that.

I have only love and respect for Turkey and people around the world. Our parents raised us with love and respect."

JOINT POST WITH ALPEREN

After the apology, Antetokounmpo shared a joint post with national star Alperen Şengün.

The two shared a photo of them hugging and wrote: "We play for the love of our countries. We play for the love of the game. We play with respect. We always remember that sport exists to unite us, not divide us."

Antetokounmpo and Alperen added Turkish and Greek flags to their post.