Following Hatayspor, Gaziantep FK has also decided to withdraw from the Turkish league. The club is located in the earthquake-hit province of Hatay.
“After a disaster of this magnitude, we couldn’t even talk about football,” read a statement from Gaziantep, which occupied 10th place in the Süper Lig. “It is not possible for our club to continue sporting activities under all these difficult circumstances. The club has therefore decided to withdraw from the competition and the cup tournament.”
There are plans to transfer the players of both clubs to other Turkish clubs, so that Gaziantep FK and Hatayspor do not have to bear that financial burden. The resumption of the Turkish league has been postponed to the first weekend of March.
FC Emmen 0-1 Fortune Sittard
In other news, Fortuna Sittard dealt a sensitive blow to FC Emmen. Oguzhan Özyakup became the match winner in the final moments of the game.
Before the game, it was a minute of silence, in memory of the victims of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Fortuna also played with special Giro 555 jerseys.
Once started, the first good chance was for the home team. Mark Diemers passed the ball tightly and Jeremy Antonisse was able to walk in, but the attacker, who made his basic debut for Emmen, tapped the ball over.
In the first half, Diemers and Ahmed El Messaoudi also had chances to score against their old club. On the other hand, Burak Yilmaz and especially Umaro Embalo were also very dangerous on behalf of the guests. However, both teams failed to get the ball in before the break.
Fifteen minutes before the end it was still a hit for the guests. Özyakup pushed the ball very precisely into the far corner, past Van der Hart: 0-1. The 43-time Turkish international celebrated that goal by showing a shirt with the message: Pray for Turkey. Substitute Ben Scholte then missed a good chance at the equalizer for Emmen.
For Özyakup and his Turkish teammates at Fortuna, the 0-1 win, the third in four Eredivisie matches, meant a small bright spot in dark days for their homeland. Fortuna is now tenth, with a lead of no less than ten points over number sixteen Emmen.
Dick Lukkien’s team suffered its first home defeat since September 4, failing to move away from the bottom spots.
