- Title: Rival Turkish soccer fans unite in protest against Besiktas attacks
- Date: 12th December 2016
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (DECEMBER 12, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FANS MARCHING CARRYING FENEBAHCE SCARVES, GALATASARAY FLAGS AND TURKISH FLAGS MARCHING VARIOUS OF FANS MARCHING WITH FLAGS AND CHANTING SLOGANS VARIOUS OF FANS HOLDING UP LARGE TURKISH FLAG AND CHANTING SLOGANS GALATASARAY FANS DEMONSTRATING ONE WOMAN HOLDING UP BESIKTAS SCARF ONE WOMAN HOLDING TURKISH FLAG VARIOUS OF FANS HOLDING LARGE TURKISH FLAG, CHANTING (Turkish): "SHOULDER TO SHOULDER AGAINST TERRORISM" (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) FENERBAHCE FAN, TARIK ALBAYRAK, SAYING: "Pain does not have a colour. Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Bursaspor are one. Shoulder to shoulder all fans are gathered here. They will not succeed in seceding Turkey. We will not let them divide our country. Carsi, Genc Fenerbahce, Ultraarslan (fan groups of Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray) are all here. FANS HOLDING UP VARIOUS SOCCER SCARVES CHANTING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) BESIKTAS FAN, UMUT BIRSIN, SAYING: "The rivalry between us will never prevent us from uniting. Thanks God, we don't get along well but we don't have bad blood. If necessary, we will come together for this country as fans of Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor. We will not let those traitors divide our country. We are here to give that message." FANS MARCHING CARRYING VARIOUS SOCCER TEAM SCARVES (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) BURSASPOR FAN, MERT BUZCU, SAYING: "What happened was bad but it strengthen our brotherhood. We will not give the country to those traitors. We are all brothers. Nobody can set us apart. Everyone should know that." VARIOUS OF FANS DEMONSTRATING/ POLICEMEN
- Embargoed: 27th December 2016 18:24
- Keywords: Turkey bombing soccer fans Besiktas solidarity protest march
- Location: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
- City: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Reuters ID: LVA0015CKYB0N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hundreds of football fans from four top Turkish clubs marched to Besiktas's Vodafone Arena on Monday evening (December 12) to protest Saturday's (December 10) bombings that killed at least 44 people and wounded over 150 others.
Fans from Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Bursaspor walked side by side in the pouring rain to give a message of solidarity against the deadly attacks that took place outside the Vodaphone Arena some two hours after the end of a match between Besiktas and Bursaspor. The first, a car bomb outside the stadium, was followed by a suicide bomb attack in an adjacent park less than a minute later.
Fenerbahce fan, Tarik Albayrak, said "pain does not have a colour. Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Bursaspor are one."
Besiktas fan, Umut Birsin, said the rivalry between the teams would not prevent them from uniting.
"If necessary, we will come together for this country as fans of Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor. We will not let those traitors divide our country. We are here to give that message," he said.
Another Bursaspor fan, Mert Buzcu, said "we are all brothers."
Soccer clubs across Europe showed solidarity with Turkey after the attack that was claimed by an offshoot of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Besiktas announced that it would cancel season tickets for a domestic cup game against Kayserispor on Wednesday. The club said all the proceeds from the approximately 40,000 tickets will go to the families of those killed in the attack. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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