Coaches' tempers flare at Athens conference

Tensions flared at the Athens coaching conference between Greek coach Giannis Sfairopoulos and Serbian coach Sasa Obradovic. The incident occurred on the sidelines of the HCB coaches' congress at the T-Center Athens.

The two coaches engaged in a strong verbal dispute concerning their overlapping time coaching Crvena Zvezda. Obradovic reportedly accused Sfairopoulos, who recently served as HCB vice-president, of playing a role in his removal from the Serbian club.

Sfairopoulos, in turn, expressed his displeasure with statements made by Obradovic after Sfairopoulos took over as head coach of Crvena Zvezda. He felt Obradovic's remarks subtly criticized his predecessor's work.

The verbal confrontation escalated, but attendees intervened promptly, preventing further tension and helping the coaches calm down. Shortly after, Obradovic apologized to Sfairopoulos, who accepted it. Both men continued their participation in the conference, and later attended a union dinner, signaling the incident was resolved.