Zoran Terzic left Istanbul with a bronze medal from the European Championship, but also to the powerful boos of the Turkish fans. The head coach of Serbia became one of the most discussed figures at the end of the championship due to his behavior during the semi-final against Turkey and his subsequent comments.
The tension began with Serbia's 0:3 loss (20:25, 19:25, 20:25). Terzic reacted vehemently against a referee's decision, entered the court during his protests, and received a yellow card.
After the match, the 60-year-old specialist further angered the hosts with his comment about the naturalized volleyball players in the Turkish national team.
"It used to be unthinkable to have more than one naturalized volleyball player. Now the Turkish national team has two, and soon there might be three, four, or even the entire squad," Terzic told Serbian media.
The response from the President of the Turkish Volleyball Federation, Mehmet Akif Üstündağ, was extremely sharp.
"You earn your living in this country, you invest in this country. You try to work in the national team and in the clubs of this country, and there isn't a person you haven't sought out for this. After the provocative actions you made today, in my opinion, from now on, you should not look for work in Turkey. We are very upset. This should not have happened," said Üstündağ.
He also recalled that in the past, Serbia had shown interest in Melissa Vargas before the Cuban started playing for Turkey.
"If that's your point of view, why did you put so much effort into her getting a Serbian passport and playing for that team?" asked the president of the Turkish federation.
A day later, the conflict spilled over into the stands. Serbia defeated Poland 3:1 (25:21, 25:19, 15:25, 25:18) and won the bronze medals, and when Terzic appeared at the awards ceremony, the Turkish crowd greeted him with deafening boos. They started even before his name was announced and at times drowned out the music in the hall.
What happened has additional significance due to Terzic's long-standing connection with Turkish volleyball. The Serbian specialist was at the helm of "Fenerbahçe" for several seasons and is well acquainted with the local volleyball environment.
Thus, Terzic left Istanbul with a bronze medal, but also with the categorical answer from the president of the Turkish federation – after what happened at EuroVolley, he should not look for work in Turkey anymore.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov