In wake of quakes, Gaziantep FK announces temporary withdrawal from Turkish Super Lig

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) - Gaziantep FK, the premier football team in one of the provinces of southern Türkiye hit hard by last week’s earthquakes, on Sunday announced their withdrawal from the Turkish Super Lig for the current season.

"Our struggle continues to heal the wounds of the earthquake disaster that affected our province and 9 neighboring provinces on Feb. 6, 2023. After such a disaster, we cannot even talk about football," the club wrote on their official website.

"It does not seem possible for our club to continue its sporting activities under all these difficult conditions. With a decision taken by our Board of Directors, Gaziantep FK has decided to withdraw from the Super Lig and Ziraat Turkish Cup competitions for the 2022-2023 season," the statement added.

On Saturday, the club of another quake-hit province, First Lig team Adanaspor from Adana, announced their withdrawal from the league as well.

Accepting the withdrawal requests, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has decided that all such clubs will be deemed defeated (3-0) in the remaining matches of the 2022-2023 season and can resume play in their respective leagues the following season.

Over 29,000 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye last Monday, according to the latest official figures.

The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.