Banana Republic

Argentine football giants River Plate's , a.k.a Los Millionares, legendary stadium El Monumental, where 1978 World Cup Final took place, was shut down for five games after a crowd trouble between River Plate fans led to the injury of 5 supporters.

This reminded me of a similar accident that took place in Fenerbahce Stadium on Valentines Day 2007, before a UEFA game against AZ Alkmaar. Allegedly started after a dispute over the distribution of free tickets to fan groups, something that Fenerbahce claimed to have stopped doing, 5 supporters were injured, one of them being serious as a result of a knife wound to the chest. The incident was simply overseen in the Turkish Media, who choose printing rather kitschy metaphors related to the Valentines Day (my friend Ozan's blog has a nice post about it).

A year ago a Besiktas fan was stabbed to death in Besiktas Stadium. Besiktas' Stadium was closed for 4 games, and "The Stadium of Death" read the banners on the first pages of national newspapers...

I am a Besiktas fan, and I am deeply embarrassed and sad, that a young supporter who was there to share his love with his stadium-mates, was killed in the stadium of my club. I think the closure was necessary, and I hope that it made the stadium that I love more secure.

But it is this hypocrisy of the Media, that makes me sick of the way the media is being run in my country (as a matter of fact I am sick of the way the my country is run too). As long as this hypocrisy continues, no one will look at efforts to make the way things are being done, without being dubious about the motives behind those efforts...

Turkish Media loves referring to failing states in various part of the world as Banana Republic. The irony is that they are acting like the media of one...

Comments

Can said…
where is the JUSTİCE!!
Diego said…
pesmergeler disari!

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