Croatian Federation claimed Zubac and Saric were verbally and physically attacked and defended themselves.
Following the conclusion of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Greece, which saw Greece winning against Croatia in the final and clinching a spot in the Paris Olympics, Ivica Zubac and Dario Saric got into a bar fight. The Croatian Basketball Federation (HKS) responded.
Namely, Zubac and Saric were filmed actively participating in a physical altercation in the Bolivar Beach Bar in Athens. Saric could be seen getting choked.
Everything happened at around 5:30 AM on Sunday night.
The news went viral, and the HKS issued an official response, claiming the players were defending themselves:
After the final match of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece and a joint dinner, the coach thanked the players for another well-done action and disbanded the national team, considering that there was no joint return to Zagreb but to several destinations according to the needs of the players.
After several weeks of difficult preparations and matches, the players decided to have a farewell gathering before returning to their homes or clubs. While hanging out in one of the clubs in Athens, some of our players were attacked first verbally and then physically, which, of course, caused them to defend themselves. It was a short-lived incident that was interrupted by the intervention of club stewards.
