On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the opposition parties of “exploiting” the dispute that occurred between two Turkish football clubs and Saudi officials, which led to the cancellation of the Turkish Super match that was scheduled in Riyadh, calling for not using what happened as a “provocative tool.” .
The Turkish Super Cup final match between the Istanbul teams, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, was postponed indefinitely before its start on Friday.
This came because of the two teams’ insistence on the players wearing shirts bearing pictures of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which was considered by the organizing authorities in the Kingdom to be an insertion of slogans from outside the sporting field.
A joint statement by the Turkish Football Federation and the two clubs, on Friday, attributed the postponement of the match to “organizational disturbances” and thanked Saudi Arabia for its efforts in organizing the match.
Erdogan described the statements of the Turkish opposition parties in this regard as “new examples of the policy of exploitation,” adding: “The opposition does not appear in public on any issue that is in the interest of the nation, the people, and Turkish democracy.”
He continued: “We cannot allow yesterday’s (Friday) incident to be taken out of its context and used as a show and provocation tool.”
Erdogan also expressed his “denunciation of the immoral insult against people’s sacred beliefs and values, especially by using an unfortunate event.”
He continued: “We have not and will not hesitate to take any step that needs to be taken.”
The Turkish President expressed his hope that “Turkish sports, especially football, will be remembered for achievements and not for controversies,” according to what Anadolu Agency reported.
He added: “Transforming sports into a tool for daily political competition, whatever the reason, is wrong and does not benefit Turkish sports,” calling on “all Turkish clubs to sincerely adopt the spirit of fair play, which represents peace, solidarity and cooperation in sports.”
2023-12-31 11:21:57
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