That doesn’t happen every day…
The Turkish Super Cup duel between champions Galatasaray and cup winners Fenerbahce is canceled! The game between the two top teams was actually supposed to take place this evening (6:45 p.m.) in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh).
But nothing comes of it…
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The association had sold the game to the desert. There was already a lot of criticism about this in advance because it was a further step in the commercialization of Turkish football.
Now things are escalating!
Fenerbahce and Galatasaray will not play. The reason: a conflict over religion and values with the Saudis.
On December 24th, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce played against each other in the league (0-0) – scenes like these no longer happen today
Foto: picture alliance / Anadolu
Both teams wanted to wear Ataturk shirts during warm-ups. The Saudis are against it. Atatürk stands for secularism – a religious-constitutional model based on the principle of strict separation between religion and state. That doesn’t suit Saudi Arabia; the government strictly rejected this intention.
Gala and Fener professionals wanted to warm up with these Atatürk shirts – but that doesn’t suit the Saudis at all!
Photo: Instagram
The teams also wanted to appear with a banderole with the well-known quote from the first President of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: “Peace at home, peace in the world”. The Saudis also refused this plan. According to journalist Haluk Yürekli, the Saudi police even broke into the Fenerbahce dressing room to collect the banner.
Best of sports videos 2023 Wild lovemaking in the stadium
Source: BILD/Twitter/Instagram December 29, 2023
Now the game is canceled. Both teams had not left the hotels. Turkish fans sang the national anthem in the stadium. The Saudis tried to cover this up with loud music.
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The two clubs have now confirmed the cancellation of the game. A joint statement said: “To celebrate the 100th anniversary of our republic and the Turkish Football Association abroad, we have organized an event together with our clubs that will contribute to the brand value of Turkish football and our clubs.”
And further: “The 2023 Super Cup, which will take place on Friday, December 29, 2023 at 8:45 p.m [Ortszeit] Due to some organizational problems, it was postponed to a later date due to a joint decision by our clubs.”
There was previously talk that kick-off would be postponed to 9 p.m. (German time). According to Turkish media, Fener President Ali Koc said: “If there is no Ataturk, there is no Turkey.”
The big bang is official – the Supercup clash between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce has been cancelled! The two teams fly back to Istanbul.
2023-12-29 19:09:05
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