Erdogan Attends Soccer Match Interrupted to Protest Gaza
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Soccer match in Turkey featured anti-Israel protests.
- Turkish President Erdogan attended the event.
- Match lights were turned off to commemorate alleged Palestinian deaths.
- An Israeli league player participated for the "Palestine" team.
- The game ended early with a political announcement.
A soccer match in Konya, Turkey, attended by approximately 42,000 spectators and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was halted in a display of solidarity with Gaza. The friendly match, pitting Turkish club Konyaspor against a team representing "Palestine," featured anti-Israel messaging and provocations.
Before the game, fans displayed a banner stating, "Silence is for when children sleep, not when they die," accusing Israel of false actions in Gaza and ignoring the October 7th Hamas attacks. In the 10th minute and 14th second, the stadium lights were turned off for a period, reportedly to commemorate what organizers claimed were 1,014 "Palestinian athletes" killed in Israeli strikes, without acknowledging potential militant affiliations. Toys were thrown onto the field.
The match concluded unusually, with the referee blowing the final whistle at 89 minutes and 59 seconds. An announcement explained the game was postponed until "Palestine is free." Following the game, Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, the governor of Konya, and the local mayor presented flowers to the Palestinian team.
Adding to the controversy, Ahmed Taha, a player for the Israeli National League club MS Kafr Qasim, participated in the match for the "Palestine" team. Despite past attempts by his club to distance themselves from him, Taha remains officially registered with the Israeli team while actively engaging in political events critical of Israel.
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