Tuesday, July 13, 2021 at 08:27• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 08:29

Galatasaray has a messy preparation in the run-up to the diptych with PSV in the second preliminary round of the Champions League. Fatih Terim’s team was supposed to practice against Olympiakos this week in the run-up to the meeting with the Eindhoven team, but has returned to Istanbul with nothing done. The reason is hassle about a PCR test at Athens airport. On the website, the Turkish club even writes about ‘violating human rights’. PSV and Galatasaray will meet each other for the first time on 21 July in the Philips Stadium. Six days later the return is in Istanbul.

Galatasaray thought he had things in order in the run-up to the showdown against Olympiakos. Before the start of the flight to Greece, all players had been tested and there was no positive corona test. When customs officials again demanded a test on arrival in Athens, things caught fire. Terim’s team said it was poorly cared for and decided to immediately return to Istanbul after the “indecent and unfair practices used by the Greek authorities on the team”. The game with Olympiakos therefore drew a line.

“Despite the fact that our coach Fatih Terim and some of our players behaved constructively and took the necessary measures, they were treated in an extremely inappropriate and even arrogant way,” reads the website of the Turkish superpower. “It is the first time that Galatasaray has been subjected to such disrespect. We expect an apology from the Greek authorities for this violation of human rights. I thank Olympiakos chairman and owner Evangelos Marinakis for all the effort. He has done his best , that was not the point.”

According to Terim, there was only one thing to do and that was to return to Turkey. “Because you play friendly matches with friends. This behavior was anything but friendly. I got a call from the Olympiakos president and I want to thank him. This has nothing to do with the club. It’s not nice to have such problems in football. No one can treat us with such an attitude anywhere. This was shameful. I especially want to thank our Foreign Minister, Sports Minister, Ambassador and Consul General, who called us three times, and everyone who protected us and about thank us.”