Bursa Uludağ Basketball Club President Berk Aladağ said that they had to play with 5 basketball players in the FIBA Women’s European Cup play-off round rematch against London Lions because most of their players were not given travel visas to England.
AA
Bursa Uludağ Basketball played the first match at TOFAŞ Sports Hall and lost 77-53 against London Lions in the FIBA Women’s Europe Cup play-off round rematch in England.
Bursa Uludağ Basketball, which had visa restrictions for the away match, was able to take to the field with 5 basketball players who had visa exemptions.
Bursa team was eliminated from the tournament by losing 122-63 to London Lions in the match in which no one from the technical staff could attend.
“Even though we stated that it was a bad situation for us, it was not accepted.”
Club president Aladağ told the AA correspondent that they received an invitation for the match this month and they started the procedures in a short time.
Stating that they were informed that they had to apply on the website for visa procedures, Aladağ stated that the official application was made on December 13.
Explaining that after the application, it was stated that the UK had a 15 working day requirement for visa applications and that this would not be possible, Aladağ said:
Consular and other authorities intervened. They stated that there was a rush due to the Christmas holiday and visas would not be received. We conveyed this situation to FIBA officials and requested to postpone the match. They also told us that if we did not go to the field, we would be penalized. We could only send 5 of our players. Although we stated that it was bad for Turkey’s reputation and for us, it was not accepted.
“We were banned from organizing for life”
“If we did not go to the field, we were subject to a 40 thousand euro fine and a lifetime ban from the organization.” Aladağ said:
Our player Eda Şahin has been injured for 2 weeks. Despite this, he went and took the field. He finished the match by waiting under the basket. 5 of our players had to fight for 40 minutes.
Aladağ stated that they constantly experience visa problems and added that what they experienced in the London Lions match upset the entire community.
News Source: Anadolu Agency (AA)
2023-12-22 10:13:32
#Visa #barrier #England #Bursa #Uludağ #Basketball #field #players
