After yesterday’s scandal and the cancellation of the Turkish Super Cup match in Riyadh between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, the organizers of the match from Saudi Arabia issued a press statement.
The capital of Saudi Arabia was supposed to host the Turkish Super Cup match yesterday, but the match was canceled after the hosts forbade the football players to enter the field wearing shirts with the image of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, and the slogan in the form of his quote “Peace at home, peace in the world”.
The organizer of the match was the company Riyadh Season, which organizes the festival of the same name, within which a duel between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray is planned, and in the official statement they stated their view on the cancellation of the match.
“We were looking forward to organizing the match in accordance with international rules, and that implies a meeting without any slogans beyond sports.
This was all especially emphasized to the Football Association of Turkey in arranging the match.
It was agreed that the national anthem of Turkey should be sung and that the flag of Turkey should be flown on the flagpole as a sign of respect for that country.
“Unfortunately, the teams did not adhere to the earlier agreement, and the match was not held,” the Saudis said.