The Turkish Super Cup, which was to be played on Friday in Riyadh between the “enemy” brothers of Istanbul, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, was “postponed” at the last minute, the Saudi organizers having refused to allow the players to wear jerseys with “slogans political,” according to Saudi and Turkish media.
After much negotiation, “the match was canceled. The match will not take place,” announced the commentator of the Saudi sports channel SSC which was to broadcast the match, reporting “disputes over jerseys bearing political slogans.” According to Turkish media, players from both teams planned to wear jerseys bearing the image of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, during the warm-up to celebrate the centenary of the Turkish Republic.
Faced with the refusal of the Saudi organizers, the two teams as well as the Turkish Football Federation decided to postpone the match which was to be played at the Al-Awwal Park stadium in Riyadh, according to a joint press release.
“The 2023 Super Cup, which was to be played on Friday at 8:45 p.m., was postponed following a joint decision taken with our clubs due to some hiccups in the organization,” they indicated, while thanking the country host “for his efforts” in organizing the match.
Organizers did not immediately comment. A Turkish Fenerbahçe fan who lives in Saudi Arabia told AFP on condition of anonymity that he had been “banned” from entering the stadium because he was wearing a T-shirt bearing the image of Fenerbahçe. ‘Atatürk.
“They (the Saudis) invited us here. They must respect us,” he said. Saudi Arabia wants to establish itself as a superpower in world sport, thanks to investments in football but also Formula 1, golf, horse riding and boxing. For several years, it has organized several sporting events, such as most recently the Club World Cup or the Italian or Spanish Super Cups.
