Turkey protests testing of soccer team at Greek airport

Advertisement

Advertise with us

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish government summoned the Greek ambassador to complain Tuesday after players and coaches from Turkish soccer club Galatasaray canceled a friendly game in Greece and returned to Turkey over a COVID-19 testing disagreement.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2021 (1857 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish government summoned the Greek ambassador to complain Tuesday after players and coaches from Turkish soccer club Galatasaray canceled a friendly game in Greece and returned to Turkey over a COVID-19 testing disagreement.

The Galatasaray players flew to Athens from Istanbul on Monday to play an exhibition against Greek champion Olympiakos at Giorgios Karaiskakis Stadium, located near the capital in Piraeus.

Greek authorities said the team members were subjected to supplementary COVID-19 tests at the airport despite carrying negative test results with them, as part of random testing procedures that apply to all visitors. They said the team members were denied entry after they refused to comply with the rules.

The Turkish Football Federation said the players were treated in an “unacceptable” way, and Galatasaray complained of “discrimination against a Turkish team.”

State-run Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency said Greek Ambassador Michael-Christos Diamessis was called to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, where Turkish officials “strongly protested” the way the Galatasaray team was treated at the airport.

Anadolu said the ambassador was told that the situation “was illegal, discriminatory and far from being friendly.”

Turkish officials also asked for actions to ensure no other Turkish sports teams are treated in the same way in the future, Anadolu reported.

NATO members Greece and Turkey have longstanding disputes over sea boundaries and mineral rights in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as over the respective rights of ethnic and religious minorities in each country. Tension flared last summer when Turkey sent exploration vessels into waters where Greece asserts jurisdiction.

On Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry described the behavior by Greek officials as unfair and “ungentlemanly,” and accused Greece of “intolerance toward our country, even in the field of sports.”

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Judge dials up two years’ probation for ‘prolific’ 911 harasser

Dean Pritchard 3 minute read Preview

Judge dials up two years’ probation for ‘prolific’ 911 harasser

Dean Pritchard 3 minute read 5:33 PM CDT

A “prolific” 911 caller has been sentenced to two years of supervised probation after admitting to calling emergency services nearly 200 times when there was no emergency.

Kenneth Jarvis, 53, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of making repeated harassing phone calls between November 2021 and April of this year.

“Mr. Jarvis is a prolific caller to emergency services, generating numerous unfounded calls for service and this was causing a strain on Winnipeg Police Service officers tasked to attend to determine what was going on,” Crown attorney Nancy Fazenda told provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs.

Jarvis was arrested in April and released on bail, then rearrested and taken into custody June 21 when he again called 911 without cause. Jarvis was arrested in possession of crack cocaine.

Read
5:33 PM CDT

Moving rail lines outside city would make Winnipeg ‘major transportation hub’

Carol Sanders 6 minute read Preview

Moving rail lines outside city would make Winnipeg ‘major transportation hub’

Carol Sanders 6 minute read Updated: 7:33 PM CDT

After decades of calls to move rail traffic to the outskirts of Winnipeg, a plan that would benefit residents, railways and taxpayers is now on track, says the former Winnipegger leading the way.

A rail line bypass south of the city, using Crown-owned land and the Manitoba Hydro corridor, would take 20 years to complete, remove 120 railway crossings that are a safety risk and free up about 250 acres of Winnipeg land over time for development, Lloyd Axworthy said Wednesday.

“The visions that we have have to be implemented,” Axworthy said at a news conference announcing the launch of a 90-day feasibility study to move freight rail traffic out of Winnipeg’s urban core along Manitoba Hydro’s southern transmission corridor, connecting east to west along the Perimeter Highway.

The former federal transport minister and Manitoba MP was tasked by Premier Wab Kinew in October 2024 to lead a two-year rail relocation feasibility study.

Read
Updated: 7:33 PM CDT

Signs the Carney approach is working

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Signs the Carney approach is working

Editorial 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

It was, if nothing else, a glowing review in trying times.

Matt Winkler, the editor in chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, spoke last week on Bloomberg Business News Daily about a recent Bloomberg analysis of the performance of the Canadian economy, and this country as a target for investment

“This is one of the greatest periods for overseas investment in Canada that we’ve seen in the century, and it may be unprecedented, because we have to wait for the rest of the year. … Money is pouring into Canada like we have not seen from everywhere. Stocks and bonds are the obvious beneficiaries,” Winkler said. He argued that Canada is both liked and seen as reasonable.

“The point is… Canada since Mark Carney became prime minister in 2025, has outperformed everyone in America and also the Eurozone and anywhere in the world. The 10 largest stock markets in the world, Canada appreciated the most, more than 40 per cent. … Its bond market is also doing great, partially because the inflation rate in Canada, unlike the Eurozone or America, is actually trending lower, and is outperforming both the Eurozone and the U.S.”

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Student union coalition scrutinized, accused of providing minimal benefit for fees paid

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

Student union coalition scrutinized, accused of providing minimal benefit for fees paid

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:36 AM CDT

Despite being labelled as “permanently closed” online and maintaining a website filled with outdated information, a coalition of student unions is defending itself as an active entity deserving of fees in spite of its low profile.

The Canadian Federation of Students and its local chapter, better known as CFS-MB, collect annual membership dues from campuses across the province to support their advocacy work.

Alan Saji Koshy’s advice to new and returning students to the University of Winnipeg? “Start asking questions.”

“We pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for practically no benefit and students don’t even know (CFS-MB resources) exist,” the recent graduate and former student association president said.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 8:36 AM CDT

Arcade bar to open in former downtown Keg

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Preview

Arcade bar to open in former downtown Keg

Gabrielle Piché 4 minute read Monday, Aug. 10, 2026

Smash burgers and Skee-Ball will replace steaks as the former downtown Keg transforms into an arcade bar.

Read
Monday, Aug. 10, 2026

A Winnipeg home with a mountain view? You won’t find a real one, but AI-generated visual suggests otherwise

Gabrielle Piché 6 minute read Preview

A Winnipeg home with a mountain view? You won’t find a real one, but AI-generated visual suggests otherwise

Gabrielle Piché 6 minute read Yesterday at 6:03 PM CDT

Manitoba’s mountain range peeked out behind a Scotia Street home.

At least, it did in a photo attached to a real estate listing for 232 Scotia St. in Winnipeg’s (flat) Seven Oaks neighbourhood.

Another picture — now removed — showed a cartoon cityscape viewable from the bungalow’s front porch.

Both photos had tags in their bottom left corners: “AI-generated content.”

Read
Yesterday at 6:03 PM CDT