You’ll often read on social media, “Keep politics out of sports,” but both will always be intertwined together, more so when two different countries have political tension.
For those who are unaware, France and Turkey are clashing after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan commented about Emmanuel Macron’s mental health and treatment of Muslims.
Macron made it known that he will crackdown on radical Islamism in France after the country was shaken by the beheading of Samuel Paty on October 16. France condemned comments made by Erdogan and has led to the country pulling its ambassador to Ankara.
What exactly does this have to do with football? Well, Paris Saint-Germain will be in Turkey to take on İstanbul Başakşehir on matchday two of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
RMC Sport reports that the players are not allowed to leave their hotel while in Turkey. The French football media also states that UEFA doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary and will proceed with the usual security measures imposed on clubs.
Also, Erdogan is an influential supporter of Başakşehir. If the Turkish club can pull an upset over the biggest club in France, expect the president to use it as a symbolic victory over the French nation tensions continue.
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