December 29 – Fenerbahce today hit out at the exclusion of its Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium from Turkey’s bid to host the 2016 European Championships.
Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium, which will be renovated, Kayseri’s Kadir Has Stadium, and Galatasaray’s Türk Telekom Arena, which is expected to open next September, would be used as part of the €1.75 billion (£1.5 billion) bid along with new stadiums in Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Konya, Antalya and Eskisehir, Sports Minister Faruk Nafiz Özak announced last week.
“It has been a shock to us not to see Fenerbahçe Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium, which hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup final in May, among the stadiums chosen to host Euro 2016 games,” the Istanbul club said in a statement posted on its official web site.
The club accused Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Secretary General Ahmet Güvener and his deputy Orhan Gobon of “not being objective for Fenerbahce”.
Fenerbahce said in its statement that reports suggesting that the Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium, which has undergone renovations and has a capacity of 53,500, has a major parking problem were leaked to the Turkish media in preparation for the decision.
The club said the selection of the host country will be made in May 2010 and organisers will have six years to prepare the stadiums.
“Stadiums that are still only on paper were preferred over Sükrü Saracoglu,” said the statement, noting major renovations are planned for Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
Related stories
December 2009: Turkey launch billion pound Euro 2016 bid