5 times football was disrespectful in the face of a tragedy

#3 Turkey vs Greece, International friendly

The moment of silence was received with boos by the home supporters

Turkish fans booed during a minute’s silence in a friendly against Greece in November 2015. The silence was observed at all the games held across Europe in memory of the 129 victims who lost their lives in the Paris attack. Some supporters went on to shout Allahu Akbar.

The Prime Ministers of the both the above-mentioned countries were in attendance as a sign of reconciliation. As the game ended, then Turkey manager Faith Terrim lambasted the home fans regarding their awful behaviour. He also went on to say that Turkey didn’t act as good neighbours on World Neighbours Day.

However, comments on social media later revealed that the boos were not to disrespect the deceased, but more to do with the hypocrisy of the Western culture. A month earlier, more than a hundred people lost their lives in the twin Ankara attacks and not a single international team held a minute’s silence as a tribute. This led to severe boos during Turkey’s game against Iceland later that week.