- Title: TURKEY/BASKETBALL-APOLOGY Turkey 'saddened' by Serbian basketball fan death
- Date: 27th November 2014
- Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (NOVEMBER 27, 2014) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN TANJU BILGIC ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Serbian) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, TANJU BILGIC, SAYING: "We are deeply saddened by the death of Marko Ivkovic. We convey our deepest sympathies to his family and relatives." ASSEMBLED MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, TANJU BILGIC, SAYING: "We hope that this incident will not happen again and the perpetrators will be caught and punished. Yesterday evening, I saw reports on Turkish media stating the suspects were detained. There will be a legal process that will show us if the suspects have really done this but Turkish-Serbian relations are strong enough not to be affected by this incident." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 12th December 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- City:
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVACW3TYH8CZ79AX77CARH7AEAN0
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- Story Text: A spokesman for Turkey's foreign ministry on Thursday (November 27) said he was 'saddened' by the death of a 25-year old Red Star Belgrade fan who was killed in Istanbul last week in fan violence before a European basketball match.
Serbian fan Marko Ivkovic was stabbed to death before the team's Euroleague basketball match at Galatasaray in Istanbul last Friday (November 21).
"We are deeply saddened by the death of Marko Ivkovic. We convey our deepest sympathies to his family and relatives," said Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic, reading out a statement in Serbian.
Trouble flared up outside the Abdi Ikpeci Arena in Istanbul before the match when around 400 Red Star fans arrived but were banned from entering, according to Radio Television Serbia (RTS).
Rival fans clashed before riot police moved in with tear gas to quell the violence, the channel said while, adding that Turkish media had reported that Red Star fans demolished several cars and shop windows in the area as they retreated.
Serbia summoned Turkey's envoy to Belgrade after the incident as Turkish police detained seven suspects, Turkish media reported.
Bilgic said that Turkish-Serbian relations wouldn't be affected by the incident and hoped those responsible would be caught.
"We hope that this incident will not happen again and the perpetrators will be caught and punished. Yesterday evening, I saw reports on Turkish media stating the suspects were detained. There will be a legal process that will show us if the suspects have really done this but Turkish-Serbian relations are strong enough not to be affected by this incident," he said.
Galatasaray won the match 110-103 in double overtime. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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