From the Liveblog of
Friday, November 29, 2024
Turkish soccer team met with outrage from fans after losing game to Maccabi Tel Aviv
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Turkey’s Besiktas soccer team was greeted by angry fans upon returning to Istanbul earlier this morning, Turkish media reports, after the team lost 3-1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League during a closed-door game in Hungary yesterday.
According to Turkish news outlet En Son Haber, some 100 angry fans were waiting at the airport as the team disembarked the plane under heavy police presence.
In particular, fans are said to have directed their anger at Besiktas coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and several held banners or led chants calling for his resignation.
Several members of the team, including Besiktas Vice President Mete Vardar and players Necip Uysal, Salih Ucan, and Ersin Destanoglu spoke briefly to the crowd after disembarking.
Speaking to the fans, Vardar apologized and told them that they had every right to be angry after losing to the Israeli team, while spokesperson, Feyyaz Uçar, promised that the team would do “whatever is necessary” to correct its mistakes going forward.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, player Tayyip Talha Sanuç also spoke to the fans, and apologized for letting the country down.
“We are so sorry,” he is quoted as having said, “we know that the Turkish people were behind us… We apologize to the country.”
The Times of Israel Community.