Plans to resume Turkey’s football league criticized
A plan announced earlier this week by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for the Super League to kick off on June 12 has been roundly criticized.
Sivas Spor Manager Riza Camlibey harshly criticized the decision to start the league, saying that all the conditions for coronavirus infecting players are all there within football games.
“You (soccer players) can’t keep social distance, you can’t wear masks, jumping, bouncing, becoming face to face, pushing, drooling while speaking to each other, fighting… Whatever you think it is in football matches and you can’t prevent the players from these risks” Calimbey said during an online interview with Turkish Skorer TV.
The former star, who also played for the national team, also questioned what happens if players don’t feel comfortable playing and whether clubs will force them.
New Malatyaspor President Adil Gevrek also warned that the majority of the Turkish teams do not welcome the launching of the leagues when the world suffers from COVID-19.
“We do not say that the league should not start, but it should start at the right time. Not a few clubs, but almost all of the clubs do not welcome the launching of leagues in this process,” said Gevrek, raising his opposition to the decision.
Test sayısı, yakında 1,5 milyona ulaşacak. Vaka sayısında dün göze çarpan kısmi artış, geriledi. Vefatta, yoğun bakım sayısında düne göre yine düşüş var. Virüsü, kararlı bir şekilde geriletmeli, tedbirlerle yenmeliyiz. Kanıtladık: Sonuç almak zor değil. https://t.co/RVlhe7786O pic.twitter.com/1yBZCUK3hT
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) May 7, 2020
Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also distanced himself from the decision to resume.
“The Scientific Board has not discussed this issue yet… Football is a sensitive issue. TFF decided on its free will. We also conveyed that we do not want to make any contributions. All the responsibility lies with TFF. As the Ministry and Science Board, we do not have any suggestions in this matter,” Minister Koca said, answering a question in his press question.
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) chairman Nihat Ozdemir said on Wednesday that Turkey plans to host the Champions League final in late August but details would be finalized after talks with health officials and UEFA.
During that announcement, Ozdemir mentioned that the domestic soccer leagues will resume without fans on June 12 after a three-month suspension caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Turkey’s total confirmed coronavirus cases stood at 133,721, according to the graphic Koca shared at Twitter. Some 4,782 patients recovered in the past 24 hours, the total number of recovered cases stood at 82,984 Koca told on May 7. The total death toll is now 3641 and there have been 1.265.119 COVID-19 tests conducted in Turkey.
66 years old Galatasaray manager Fatih Terim, who has also managed Italian clubs AC Milan and Fiorentina and the Turkish national side, has tested positive for coronavirus in March and he was discharged from the hospital on March 30 after seven days of treatment or coronavirus.
Former Turkey goalkeeper Rustu Recber was also tested positive for the virus and the legend goalkeeper was discharged from the hospital on 6 April.
Istanbul team Fenerbahce canceled training on Friday after an employee for the team tested positive for the virus.