ISTANBUL, TURKEY - NOVEMBER 17: Turkey's Olcan Sahan rides the ball past Greece's Andreas Samaris during an international friendly soccer match between Greece and Turkey November 17, 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
While the sports world has paid its respects to Paris since the terrorist attacks that shook the city last week, a planned moment of silence in Turkey did not go according to plan.
Before a match against Greece, Turkish fans whistled — the global soccer equivalent of North American boos — and chanted through the the Greek national anthem and a planned moment of silence
The chants were reportedly “Allahu Akbar” and “Martyrs never die, the country will never be divided,” according to Today’s Zaman.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.
Unsurprisingly, the Turkish national team’s coach, Fatih Terim, voiced his displeasure with the fans.
“First, it is unacceptable that the Greek anthem was booed. Who did that? How do we justify to the world what happened here? Our custom is to respect our neighbors. If we were the victims of those whistles abroad, we would be devastated. I grew up in an area where it is mixed and where we respected each other”, he told L’Equipe.
“These whistles damage the image of our country,” he said. “There were two matches on Tuesday canceled because of this terror. This is not child’s play. Terrorist threats are very serious. We must think. We can not remain passive in our country facing what is happening. It’s not us. You realize there is not even a minute’s silence. My God. I cannot justify what happened. But if we act together, we can prevent the sport from being sacrificed to terrorism.”
PHOTO: ISTANBUL, TURKEY – NOVEMBER 17: Turkey’s Ozan Tufan, dribble past Greece’s Alexandros Tziolis during an international friendly soccer match between Greece and Turkey November 17, 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears legend and former fullback Matt Suhey passed away this weekend. Suhey was part…
Heading into head coach Dan Lanning’s fourth season, the Oregon Ducks were expected to be…
The Dallas Cowboys have waived quarterback Joe Milton III, as the team announced Sam Howell…
Indianapolis Colts receiver Keenan Allen was arrested after being suspected of driving under the influence.…
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut Veteran quarterback Jake Browning months after signing him to a…
Arch Manning, coming off what some would call a disappointing year, has started strong as…