The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) revealed the possibility of allowing fans to return to the stadium in July, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
TTF President Nihat Ozdemir said the main goal is to complete the 2019/20 season and believes that if the tournament returns in July, fans can completely come to the stadium to cheer.
The first goal is to play without spectators, but things are changing positively and football fans can return to the field in July. We want to complete the season. Tests will be done regularly during the preparation process.
If there are cases of COVID-19, we will quarantine and continue the normal competition plan. There are some other countries that are about to restart the season and the situation there is worse than us, President Nihat Ozdemir told CNN Turk.
However, when the information was given, the Ministry of Health reacted strongly. The representative of the Ministry emphasized that the Federation has made decisions based on its own initiative, therefore, the responsibility belongs to the Federation.
In addition, Sivasspor coach Riza Calimbay expressed his disagreement: The tournament has been suspended with only a few cases, now they want to continue when the number is thousands. I can't understand why?".
Turkey is one of the last European countries to stop domestic tournaments due to COVID-19. According to the World Health Organization, the country currently records 148,000 cases of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections, including more than 4,000 deaths.
Most recently, Besiktas club announced 8 cases of COVID-19 infection, including CEO Ahmet Nur Cebi. Agreeing to allow fans to enter the stadium is probably just a " hope", encouraging the spirit of the tournament, but in fact, no one will dare to waste their lives and play when COVID-19 has not been completely stopped.
