April 9 – Players at Turkish second tier club Gençlerbirligi have refused to train over unpaid wages. Told to report for training at 12:00 on Tuesday, they failed to show on the training ground, instead protesting over the club’s ongoing financial malaise.
President Osman Sungur (pictured, third from left) and members of the club’s board of directors held an emergency meeting with the team’s players, and convinced them to return to training.
Eventually training began at 15:15 after the players received assurances their salaries would be paid as soon as possible. The team’s training session was watched by the president and a large part of the club’s management from Ankara.
It is not clear how much of their outstanding wages are unpaid.
The financial problems at the Turkish second-tier club are not new. But despite the the poor financial situation, Gençlerbirligi are in fourth place in the league, which guarantees a spot in the playoffs for promotion to the top ier of Turkish football – the Super Lig.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1744974766labto1744974766ofdlr1744974766owedi1744974766sni@o1744974766fni1744974766