Dursun Özbek, president of the Galatasaray club, announced on Wednesday that many players from his club have donated their salaries to help the victims of the earthquake which struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 and caused at least 39,000 dead according to the latest report. “Many of our players have given up their salaries to [financer] earthquake relief operationsassured the Turkish leader at a press conference.
Fenerbahçe and Besiktas – the other two big Istanbul clubs – have also launched donation campaigns, sending aid trucks to the country’s southern and southeastern provinces, devastated by the natural disaster.
The Turkish Premier League was suspended after the earthquake, and two SüperLig clubs – Hatayspor and Gaziantep FK – withdrew but will not be relegated. Matches will resume on March 3.