Turkish club Hatayspor have taken the decision to withdraw from the league tournament due to the fact that the country was recently affected by the devastating earthquake in Turkey.
Early Monday morning, a strong earthquake hit Syria and Turkey, killing thousands of people.
And given that Hatayspor was among those most affected by the earthquake due to its presence in Turkey’s northern region, Hatayspor decided to withdraw from the Turkish First Division this season.
Multiple reports have confirmed that the 31-year-old Ghana team star Cristiano Atsu, apart from the club’s sporting director, has yet to be found, after it was confirmed they were under rubble in one of the collapsed buildings due to the earthquake.
Christian Atsu still missing
More than 3,000 human souls died #ChristianAtsu#Hatayspor#Turkeypic.twitter.com/DenP3BCwgm— PhrofTV (@PhrofT) February 7, 2023
Hatay is in 14th place in the Turkish League standings with 23 points from 21 matches.
And Mehmet Buyukekci, president of the Turkish Football Federation, announced that Hatayspor had informed the federation that they would not play their matches this season.
He said: “If the Gaziantep team also wants to withdraw from the league, then among our plans is to continue with 17 teams, provided that the rights of these two clubs remain the same.”
Yeni Malatyaspor club president Ahmet Yaman also announced that the club would likely withdraw from the Turkish league due to the earthquake.
Club Malatya is located in one of the provinces affected by the earthquake.
After the catastrophe of the earthquake that affected 10 provinces, the football leagues were postponed for a week by the decision of the Turkish Football Association, before the president of the federation announced earlier the start date of the league matches scheduled for March 3 and 4.
Source: “Media”