Soccer-Fenerbahce players walk off after one minute to concede Turkish Super Cup (updated)
07/04/2024 22:16
(Adds Fenerbahce statement, background)
April 7 (Reuters) - Fenerbahce's players walked off the
pitch after one minute of Sunday's Turkish Super Cup match
against Galatasaray, forcing the game to be abandoned and
conceding the trophy.
Fenerbahce, who fielded their Under-19 team, withdrew from
the rearranged match in Sanliurfa about 1,000 km from Istanbul
after Galatasaray's Argentine striker Mauro Icardi scored.
Media reported the club had requested the game be postponed
ahead of their Europa Conference League quarter-final, first leg
at Olympiakos Piraeus on Thursday but were turned down.
In March, Fenerbahce had
considered withdrawing from the Turkish Super Lig in protest
after their players were attacked by Trabzonspor fans during a
match.
"As the largest sports club in the world, with 30 million
fans who embody the national values of their respective
countries, we'll continue to stand tall today and in the future,
just as we did yesterday," Fenerbahce said on X on Sunday.
The Turkish Super Cup was scheduled to be played in
Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh in December but was postponed.
Media reported at the time that the two teams would not
play the match as Saudi authorities did not allow the players to
wear T-shirts featuring the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, in the warm-up ahead of the evening kick-off.
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay, writing by Burcu Karakas; Editing
by Ken Ferris)
((Burcu.Karakas@thomsonreuters.com;))