Turkish Sports and Youth Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu on Thursday announced that all league matches had been suspended until the danger of the coronavirus pandemic eases, the Turkish media reported.
Previously, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said matches would resume without spectators, an announcement that drew heavy criticism from both coaches and players.
Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel has reached a mutual agreement with Trabzonspor to terminate his contract with the team due to coronavirus fears, while many others lambasted the TFF decision.
“In no way, I do mean any disrespect to any of the decision-makers that are responsible for handling this coronavirus pandemic, but I do not understand why the Turkish League is continuing to play when every other league in the world is either suspended or canceled,” Shane Larkin, an American basketballer playing for Turkey’s Anadolu Efes, posted on social media.
The European football authority, UEFA, has postponed the Euro 2020 football tournament to next year due to the viral outbreak.
A number of European footballers tested positive for the COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that was first seen in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has spread rapidly to more than 100 countries.
