Fenerbahce Istanbul and Galatasaray Istanbul did not show up for the Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia on Friday evening. An ex-Schalke player was in the middle of it. The background.

Scandal in Saudi Arabia: Because the country’s security authorities have banned the teams of Galatasaray Istanbul and Fenerbahce Istanbul from wearing warm-up shirts with the likeness of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, both clubs have agreed not to compete in the Supercup final in Riyadh this evening.

Both teams have not left the hotel and are now on the return flight to Turkey. The teams are expected back in Turkey at around 2 a.m. German time with former Schalke player Kaan Ayhan, who plays for Galatasaray Istanbul, at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökcen Airport.

The relocation of the game to Saudi Arabia in the year of Turkey’s centenary had caused a stir in advance. Both clubs, who are usually enemies, did not actually want to play there, but ultimately had to bow to the pressure and financial interests of the Turkish Football Association.

They apparently came up with the T-shirt campaign as a result. They also wanted to run out with a banner bearing the saying of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey: “Peace at home, peace in the world”. The Saudis apparently also banned this.

The fans already in the stadium then started singing the Turkish national anthem, but the “Istiklal Marsi” was drowned out by loud music. In addition, a video was shown on the Turkish television channel “Halk TV” in which the spectators chanted the slogan “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal”.

Both clubs have thus made a clear statement about the secularism in Turkey. This has also impressed the third Istanbul city rival Besiktas Istanbul, which also feels committed to the values of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – and thus a clear separation of state and religion. He has invited Fenerbahce and Galatasaray to play the game at the Besiktas Stadium. “Our door is open,” they wrote on social media.

According to “Halk TV”, the president of the Turkish Football Association, Mehmet Büyükeksi, has since resigned. It is still unclear when and where the game will be played.