Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia postponed
Istanbul giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe's much-anticipated Turkish Super Cup final, scheduled to be held at the Al-Awwal Stadium in Saudi Arabia on Friday, was postponed after an alleged disagreement with Saudi authorities.
Saudi authorities allegedly did not allow the display of posters and t-shirts with the picture of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and a banner with Atatürk's famous quote "Peace at Home, Peace in the World" and the Turkish national anthem to be played, reports said.
Turkish Super Cup final teams Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray did not go to the stadium and were told to stay in their hotels as the Turkish football body officials discussed the issue.
In a statement, the Turkish Football Federation said that the match, earlier scheduled to be played on Friday at the Al-Awwal Stadium in Riyadh, "was postponed due to some problems in the organization with the joint decision of the clubs" and the Turkish football body.
The governing body of Turkish football thanked the Saudi Football Federation and relevant institutions for their efforts in the organization of the Super Cup.
Both teams decided not to show up in the final game after negotiations between the Turkish Football Federation, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Saudi officials failed.
As the defending champions of the Turkish Super Lig, the Lions aim to conclude the year on a high note by vanquishing the Yellow Canaries, the Turkish Cup holders.
The longtime adversaries were supposed to meet for the second time in just five days, following their bland goalless encounter at Ülker Stadium on Sunday in the Süper Lig.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced Friday that the Turkish Super Cup final would begin in the presence of our national flag.
"The Super Cup match will start in the presence of our Turkish flag, 100th Anniversary Celebration events, a moment of silence for our martyrs and our National Anthem to be read by the artist Norm Ender. Please do not pay attention to the disinformation on this subject," the official TFF statement read.
Galatasaray, the defending Turkish Super Lig champions, will take on Fenerbahce, the winners of the Turkish Cup last season, in the annual Super Cup match at Riyadh's Al-Awwal Park (King Saud University Stadium) on Friday evening.
DailySabah
