TURKISH PRESIDENT GUL GOES TO THE MATCH
By Ozgucan Cengiz, JTW
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Sept 4 2008
Turkey
The Turkish President, Abdullah Gul is to attend 2010 FIFA World
Cup qualifying group stage match between Armenia and Turkey on
Saturday. The match will take place in Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan.
According to the spokesman of the Armenian president, Samvel Farmanyan,
Gul’s counterpart Serge Sarkisian has extended an invitation to
Ankara. It is expected that the two head of state will attend the
match together.
Mr. Gul will become the first Turkish president to visit the Armenian
capital, Yerevan.
The two countries have no diplomatic ties since 1993 due to the
Nagarno-Karabakh issue, eventhough Turkey was the first state that
recognize Armenia’s independence on December 16, 1991. Armenia’s
so-called genocide allegation that also takes part in international
area at times is the main dispute between two countries.
Turkish National Football Team continues its preparation for the
match in Inonu Stadium, Istanbul. The coach of Turkish National Team,
Fatih Terim declared "We will go out for a match, not for a war"
after a question about political issues on a press conference. He
added "It is not possible to prepare for a game with thinking about
political problems and conflicts in history. We can’t carry the bulk
of history on our shoulders before this match. We footballers think
fast, we practice fast and we like playing fast. But if we handle
the weight of history then we would be slow and it violates our play".
From: Baghdasarian