ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s soccer league is likely to cancel or reschedule matches in areas near the Iraqi border because of fears about a U.S.-led war, a soccer federation official said Wednesday.
Turkey is expected to provide some support to U.S. war efforts, but fears it could become susceptible to Iraqi retaliation.
“We probably will not allow league matches to be played in the east and southeast,” the semiofficial Anatolia news agency quoted Turkish Soccer Federation Vice President Ata Aksu as saying. “It’s certain that a war is unavoidable.”
The league decision could affect several teams, including first division clubs Diyarbakirspor, Gaziantepspor, Adanaspor, Malatyaspor, and Elazigspor.
Aksu said any decision to cancel or reschedule matches would come after Turkey’s government had announced the country’s contribution to any U.S. war.
“The important question is to what extent Turkey’s going to enter this war,” Aksu said.
Washington is pressuring Turkey to allow it to use several Turkish military bases against Iraq. A Turkish government decision is expected in the coming days.
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