Sport in Turkey suspended after earthquake
TURKISH Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Kasapoğlu has suspended all sports activity in Turkey until further notice after earthquakes hit the Kahramanmaraş province in the south of the country this morning, killing over a thousand people in the country.
According to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 1,121 have died as a result of the two earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.7 magnitude. Another 5,385 have been injured in Turkey. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) extended its sympathies for those affected.
The impact of the earthquake affected northern Syria too, with the nation's Health Ministry reporting 326 people have been killed and 1,042 injured.
On top of this, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance has said the death toll in the uncontrolled north-west parts of Syria, sits at 255, with a further 811 injured.
Former Syrian striker Nader Joukhadar — who scored nine international goals in 14 appearances for his national football team — was reported dead, as was his son.
Turkish goalkeeper Ahmet Eyüp Türkaslan, who played for TFF First League club Yeni Malatyaspor, was reported dead at 28.
The second of the earthquakes was 42 miles north-east of Kahramanmaraş, hitting Malatya.
Tremors could be felt as far away as Egypt and Cyprus.
Erdoğan said it was the worst disaster in Turkey since an earthquake in 1939 killed over 32,000 people.
UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Citadel in Aleppo and Gaziantep Castle have been heavily damaged.
Turkish Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Kasapoğlu has suspended all sports activity in Turkey until further notice after earthquakes hit the Kahramanmaraş province in the south of the country this morning, killing over a thousand people in the country.
According to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 1,121 have died as a result of the two earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.7 magnitude. Another 5,385 have been injured in Turkey.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) extended its sympathies for those affected. The impact of the earthquake affected northern Syria too, with the nation's Health Ministry reporting 326 people have been killed and 1,042 injured.
On top of this, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance has said the death toll in the uncontrolled north-west parts of Syria, sits at 255, with a further 811 injured.
Former Syrian striker Nader Joukhadar — who scored nine international goals in 14 appearances for his national football team — was reported dead, as was his son.
Turkish goalkeeper Ahmet Eyüp Türkaslan, who played for TFF First League club Yeni Malatyaspor, was reported dead at 28.
The second of the earthquakes was 42 miles north-east of Kahramanmaraş, hitting Malatya. Tremors could be felt as far away as Egypt and Cyprus.
Erdoğan said it was the worst disaster in Turkey since an earthquake in 1939 killed over 32,000 people.
UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Citadel in Aleppo and Gaziantep Castle have been heavily damaged.
According to VOLE sports presenter Yağız Sabuncuoğlu, former Premier League footballer and Ghana winger Christian Atsu has been trapped under the rubble along with Hatayspor sporting director Taner Savut and are yet to be found.
Just yesterday, Atsu scored a 97th minute winner against Kasımpaşa for Hatayspor in the top division of Turkish football, the Süper Lig.
Football players from 1920 Maraşspor could have been staying in a hotel destroyed by an earthquake, according to Haber Global, with a men's volleyball team and girls' under-14 volleyball team believed to be affected too.
Olympic wrestling champion Taha Akgül has pled for help too, citing between 30 and 40 wrestlers are trapped too, as reported by Birgun.
The National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan has confirmed its youth freestyle wrestling team, which has been competing in a tournament in Kahramanmaraş, confirming "all athletes and coaches are safe and healthy".
Athletes are to be transported to Ankara and then Istanbul, before flying back to Tashkent.
UEFA has expressed its condolences. "The thoughts of UEFA and the European football community are with the people of Türkiye and Syria, and all those affected by this morning's devastating earthquake," read their tweet.
EuroLeague Basketball said its thoughts were with all affected, while Spanish football club Real Madrid shared its "deepest sympathy and solidarity."