TURKEY ON THURSDAY expressed “sadness” over a chant of “Vladimir Putin” that rang out at a Champions League qualifier in Istanbul involving Dynamo Kyiv.
Footage on social media showed a section of Fenerbahce’s packed stadium singing the Russian president’s name in response to Dynamo’s first goal against the Istanbul side on Wednesday.
The Ukrainians won the match 2-1 after drawing 0-0 in the home leg played in Poland because of Russia’s invasion.
They now progress to the third round of qualifying while Fenerbahce are knocked out.
The chant appeared to be an attempt by Fenerbahce’s supporters to goad Dynamo’s fans at the park after the opening goal.
Fenerbahçe fans chanting “Vladimir Putin” after a Dynamo Kyiv player celebrated scoring in this #UCL qualifier.
— Nico Cantor (@Nicocantor1) July 27, 2022
Absolutely tasteless 👎 pic.twitter.com/NocU0MTpbk
“Football is a fair game. Yesterday Dynamo Kyiv were stronger,” Ukraine’s ambassador Vasyl Bodnar tweeted.
“It is very sad to hear the words of support from Fenerbahce’s fans for a Russian murderer and aggressor who bombed our country,” Bodnar wrote.
“I am grateful to the friendly Turkish people for their support of Ukraine and for their consideration of the inappropriate actions of the fans.”
Ukraine was able to repel Russia’s attempt to seize Kyiv in the first weeks of its invasion five months ago.
Putin has questioned the Ukrainian nation’s right to exist and branded its leaders as “Nazis” who must be deposed.
The war has claimed thousands of lives and featured relentless missile and rocket attacks against Ukrainian cities that have killed civilians daily.
Turkey has tried to stay neutral in the conflict despite its membership of the US-led NATO defence alliance.
Dynamo’s irate Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu refused to attend the mandatory post-match press conference in protest.
“I did not expect such a chant,” he said in a statement released to Turkish media. “It is a pity.”
Turkey is generally popular among many Ukrainians because of its military support for Kyiv’s Western-backed government.
The Ukrainian army has used Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 combat drones to attack Russian armoured columns and slow the Kremlin’s push into the Donbas war zone in the east.
Ukraine now has a “Bayraktar” radio station and the drones feature in popular songs.
The private company said on Thursday it was donating another drone to Ukraine in response to a fundraising effort in Poland aimed at raising millions of dollars for the purchase of one of the unmanned aerial vehicles on Kyiv’s behalf.
The Ukrainian ambassador thanked Turkey’s drone makers in another tweet.
“Bayraktar will remain a symbol of friendship between our countries for many years,” Bodnar wrote.
But Turkish media report Putin has suggested to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia — in search of better combat drone support — start producing the Bayraktars to help its own war effort.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not deny the offer when asked about it by reporters on Wednesday.
“Military and technological cooperation is always on the two countries’ agenda,” Peskov said.
Originally published at 12.39
Soccer always attracts the best
@John O Reilly: Turkey are a cut above.
@John O Reilly: soccer is a game for all, the rich, the poor and everyone in between. It’s not elitist and is representative of society as a whole, as all sports should be. This incident is representative of our society not soccer fans in general.
@GrumpyAulFella: it’s called football,generally it’s country people & Gaa heads who call it soccer…..FIFA UEFA don’t have the name soccer attached to them
@Tony Doyle: it’s the English themselves who coined the term soccer. People can it whatever they want. Your “country people (whatever that means) and GAA heads” quip is quite nonsensical.
@Tony Doyle: Wrong. It’s not called football. It’s called association football which is where the word soccer comes from and both FIFA and uefa have the word association in their names. It’s not just country people and gaa heads, as you so unintelligently put it, that call it that. It’s called that in other countries as well like the USA and Australia to distinguish it from the likes of American football or Aussie Rules Football in the same way it’s used here to differentiate it from Gaelic football. If anything soccer is a more correct term than just football as it’s derived from the sport’s proper name
@Mark Jay: Correct. Specifically it was students in Oxford who used the terms soccer and rugger to differentiate between association and rugby football
Very unlike the Turkish fans.
Have no interest in any team who supports putin. Fans or club’s.
Disgusting.
It takes a special kind of person to stoop to a level that low. Soccer fans get their moment in the spotlight. Can’t really say it was only a small percent in this case
They are some soulless people in the world unfortunately and this is an example.
Jayyyysus
Strange war if football players don’t have to sign up. Just asking…
@John Smith: perhaps they’re the morale booster the troops need? Something to tune into outside of the war, just saying…
I don’t think there are very many critical thinkers among the readership here.
What would you expect from a pig but a grunt?!
Do you know why the war started?
Gh,
@David Hughes: Well said
@mcdb06: and thanks to you I will be forever in your debt
G
I guess we are all Fenerbache fans now
@JustBEERbarry: don’t you mean Dynamo??
Gh
meh… Kiev still won…. They (the chanting fans) were just showing themselves up as sore losers
Igno rant fules. Likely to be perceived as toxic. And rightly so.
Turkish fans chose right side. Any respect from tolerant Europe?