AExceptionally, the subways and buses in Istanbul ran all night long. Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu announced this personally last Friday evening. Public transport was expected to take as many Istanbul residents as possible to the city's two airports in the early hours of the morning to give players from Turkey's two most popular football clubs, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, a hero's welcome. “Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and our national anthem are red lines for all of us,” wrote the opposition politician.
The two soccer teams returned from the Saudi capital Riyadh, where they were supposed to play the final of the Turkish Super Cup that evening. But the hosts did not allow them to wear jerseys and banners with the likeness and motto of the republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, during the warm-up. Both teams then agreed to cancel the game and fly home.
#Fenerbahçe #Galatasaray #Erdoğan #angry
