The Turkish Super Cup match between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia on Friday, was postponed just before its start due to both teams' insistence on players wearing jerseys featuring images of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. This was deemed by the organizing authorities in the kingdom as introducing non-sporting messages.
Both Turkish clubs and the local football federation issued a joint statement announcing the postponement of the match to "a later date" and the return of both teams to Turkey. The statement indicated that the match was postponed to a date to be determined later "following a mutual decision made in coordination with the clubs due to some organizational errors. We would like to thank the football federation and the relevant institutions in the host country for their efforts in organizing the Super Cup."
Meanwhile, the organizing body for the Riyadh Season, responsible for the tournament, released a statement late Friday, indicating: "We were looking forward to holding the match as scheduled in accordance with international football regulations, which require presenting sports without any external slogans, especially since this matter had been discussed with the Turkish federation during preparatory meetings for the match, where adherence to the regulations specific to this match was emphasized."
The statement further noted that "an agreement was reached to play the Turkish national anthem and display the Turkish flag inside the stadium and in the stands in appreciation of the status we hold for the Republic of Turkey. Despite this agreement, it was unfortunate that both teams did not comply with what was agreed upon, which led to the match not being held."
The match was set to take place at Al-Nassr Club's Al-Awwal Park stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, featuring Turkish league champion Galatasaray and cup champion Fenerbahçe.
On social media, footage circulated showing the buses carrying both teams and fans leaving the match venue following the cancellation, before heading to their respective hotels and then to the airport for a private flight back to Turkey.
This incident follows a similar situation in early October when Al-Ittihad Club from Saudi Arabia refused to play a match in the AFC Champions League against Iran's Sepahan in Tehran due to the presence of a statue of Iranian Revolutionary Guard leader Qassem Soleimani. The Saudis asserted that the statue's presence constituted a political message that should not be within a football stadium.
Fans of both Turkish clubs were seen waiting for the players at the airport, waving Turkish flags and images of Atatürk. Prior reports had indicated, before the official statements from both the Turkish and Saudi sides, that one of the reasons for the match's cancellation was the refusal to play the Turkish national anthem at the match venue.
In this regard, Saudi sports journalist Ahmed Al-Ajlan remarked on X: "Yes, the Turkish anthem was played at Al-Awwal Park, which refutes all the lies from Turkish media that the organizers refused this! In short, there is no room for politicizing sports, nor for raising political phrases and images in football."
The Riyadh Season, responsible for organizing the Turkish Super Cup match between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, stated that the teams' failure to comply with the agreed terms is what led to the match not taking place.
