Turkish club Galatasaray players will donate their salaries to the victims of the earthquake that has left more than 35,000 dead and millions homeless in Turkey, the club’s president announced on Wednesday.
“Many of our players have given up their salaries to [financiar] the operations to help the victims of the earthquake”, declared Dursun Özbek in a press conference.
Galatasaray and the other two big clubs in Istanbul, Fenerbahçe and Besiktas, have also launched donation campaigns, managing to bring aid trucks to the southern and southeastern provinces of the country devastated by the earthquake on February 6.
The Turkish first division championship was suspended following the earthquake, and two Süper Lig clubs, Hatayspor and Gaziantep FK, decided to withdraw.
These two clubs are located in the most affected provinces. Ghanaian striker Christian Atsu, a Hatayspor player, is still missing, nine days following the quake.
Championship matches should resume on March 3, the president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced.
Galatasary, the club with the most titles in the country, occupies the first place in the standings following 22 days.
