Posted on November 18, 2015

Turkey Fans BOO During Pre-Match Minute’s Silence for the Victims of Paris Attacks and Chant ‘Allahu Akbar’

Ece Toksabay, Reuters, November 17, 2015

Chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ were reportedly heard in Istanbul as some Turkey fans shamefully booed a pre-match minute’s silence for the victims of the Paris attacks.

The friendly itself against Greece was largely forgettable as the action finished 0-0 at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium.

But the game was tarnished before it even started as a video emerged suggesting some of the Turkish faithful were voicing their dissent towards tributes for the 129 victims who were killed in last Friday’s atrocities in Paris.

Loud jeering is audible as players from both sides stood silently in the centre circle before kick-off, with reported shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar’–the Islamic phrase meaning ‘God is greater’–filtering through the stands.

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Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras watched the game together, in a sign of reconciliation between the two neighbours, whose relationship has suffered from hostilities in the past.

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