After the earthquake, Hatayspor will be removed from the Turkish championship. Atsu under the rubble, he was not found

Football consequences of horror.

Hatayspor, a club from the city hit hard by the earthquake in Turkey, will withdraw from the national championship. This was stated by the President of the Turkish Football Federation Mehmet Buyukekshi.

“We met with the president of Hatayspor about Christian Atsu. He said that a dark-skinned man was rescued from the rubble, but he doesn’t know if it was Atsu or not. There is no complete clarity. I hope he is among the saved people.

Hatayspor sent us a letter today. It informs that the club will not play their matches this season.

Gaziantep also wants to withdraw from the championship. If this happens, we plan to continue playing with 17 teams,” Büyükeksi said.

Hatayspor is 14th out of 19 in the standings. Gaziantep, who scored 25 points, is in 10th place.

The horrors of Hatayspor: midfielder Atsu and sports director have not yet been found, several players were under the rubble

Hatayspor was badly damaged by the earthquake – midfielder Christian Atsu and sports director Taner Savut are still under the rubble. A few days after the tragedy, it is not known what happened to them and where they are.

Hatayspor players Burak Oksuz, Bertug Yildirim and Kerim Alyci were rescued from the rubble. The latter was able to get out on his own. They also saved two members of the coaching staff – Ekrem Ekshioglu and Osman Ates.

All the other players of Hatayspor are fine. There are not so many well-known names here: Ze Luis, who played in Spartak and Lokomotiv, and Ognen Vranjesh (Alania, Krasnodar and Tom). In the championship, the club is fighting for survival.

Hatayspor represents the Hatay region in the south-east of the country and plays in its largest city, Antakya (Antioch).

According to local authorities, some areas of Antakya were completely destroyed. Historical sights also suffered: for example, St. Paul’s Cathedral was almost completely destroyed.

Can clubs get help? Got a plan?

The Turkish Football Federation is already thinking about securing places for these teams in the leagues for next season. The idea was supported by Fenerbahce President Ali Koç: “We have to play with 20 teams next year. We need to share the financial burden these clubs will bear.”

Also, according to Koch, the federations of other countries are already contacting the Turks and offering to organize friendly matches with top clubs. “Maybe we can have a tournament? We are all amazed by what is happening. It will take several years for us to return to normal,” Koch said.

Sports events were suspended in Turkey immediately after the earthquake, Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu announced. On another date, the matches of the Turkish championship Umraniespor – Adana Demirspor, Giresunspor – Kayserispor and Fenerbahce – Konyaspor, which were supposed to take place on the day of the tragedy, will be held. What will happen to the games scheduled for the coming weekend is still unknown, but they are likely to be rescheduled as well.