Amedspor Player Gets Excluded from 12 Games Saying ‘Long Live Freedom’

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Football Federation Professional Football Committee (PFDK) has sentenced Amedspor player Deniz Naki to exclusion from 12 official games for making ideological propaganda and unsporting statements.

In its statement, Turkey Football Federation (TFF) has announced that Amedspor player Deniz Naki has also been sentenced to 6,000 euro punitive fine due to his posting on his Facebook account following his team’s victory against Bursaspor on Turkey Cup

The player had been referred to the discipline committee by TFF Legal Consultancy Department on charges of “unsporting statements” and “discriminatory and ideological propaganda” by means of his statements on Facebook.

Deniz Naki has been penalized due to his following posting:

“Today was an important victory for us. We have come through this dirty game with honour. In such a rough time, we are experiencing the honour and pleasure of bringing a glimmer of hope to our people even if just a drop. As Amedspor we have not surrendered and are not going to. We have taken the field with our faith in freedom and won. Because we have planted seeds in freedom and hope. We owe a debt of gratitude to all our politicians, artists and our people and dedicate this victory to all our people who have lost their lives or been injured on our lands for more than 50 days. Her biji Azadi (Long live freedom)”.

Punishments one after another

Amedspor was sentenced to playing without audience on one game and to a punitive fine in amount of 7,600 euro on charges of ideological cheerings of the team’s fans on the game against Başakşehirspor earlier. The chanting slogan had been as follows:

The barricade is here, stands not to collapse…

Everywhere Sur, everywhere resistance...

Everywhere Cizre, everywhere resistance...

Don’t let the children die, so they also can come to the play.

Due to this punishment, Amedspor will play without its audience against Fenerbahçe in Diyarbakır.

*AmedSK is a sports club based in Diyarbakır playing in the Turkish Football Federation Second League. The club had changed its name from Diyarbakır Büyükşehir (Metropolitan Municipality) Belediyespor to AmedSK  adopting the Kurdish name for Diyarbakır province in October 2014 due to which it has been sentenced to a fine by the Turkish Football Federation. (EKN/DG)