Turkey, Generals and football

Tue Oct 28 06:55:07 GMT 1997

Besiktas Apologize to Generals for Toshack

Megaköy, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Besiktas soccer club apologised to
Turkey's powerful generals on Monday for remarks by their Welsh coach
John Toshack over an injury to the team 's top striker in army
training, Anatolian news agency said.

"The board of directors and the technical committee and all our
sportsmen apologise for the misunderstanding and extend our thanks to
the Turkish armed forces for all the support they have given us to
date," the Besiktas statement said.

The row started on Friday after Oktay Derelioglu was injured during
army training while doing his military service.

Oktay scored the winner in Besiktas' 1-0 European Cup Champions'
League victory over Gothenburg last week and also hit two goals in a
3-1 victory over Paris St Germain in the same competition earlier in
the month.

"The like of this has not been seen anywhere in the world before. Even
the communist regimes of 30 years ago looked after their sportsmen
better," the Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted Toshack as saying.

Hurriyet said the chiefs of general staff contacted the club's board
of directors, telling them to warn Toshack and if necessary sever his
ties with the Turkish first division side.

Pressure from the generals, responsible for three coups between 1960
and 1980, was widely seen to have led to the resignation of Turkey's
first Islamist prime minister in June.

"The concern of our trainer Toshack who was upset by the situation was
unnecessarily exacerbated," the statement said.

Besiktas are second in Champions' League group E after the wins
against PSG and Gothenburg and second in the Turkish league

-- 
Press Agency Ozgurluk
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