Thousands of Beşiktaş fans on Sunday gathered at the Vodafone Park Stadium in Istanbul. They threw an abundance of stuffed toys onto the field in a stirring display of solidarity with the thousands of children adversely impacted by the earthquakes that shook Türkiye on Feb. 6.
Sunday’s match between Beşiktaş and Fraport TAV Antalyaspor at Istanbul’s Vodafone Park was paused 4 minutes 17 seconds after the kickoff in memory of the initial earthquake, which struck at 4.17 a.m. local time (1:17 a.m. GMT).
Following the significant earthquakes, the Istanbul football powerhouse launched a heartwarming campaign asking fans to bring stuffed toys to Beşiktaş’s home, Vodafone Park.
The toys will be donated to children in the earthquake-hit regions.
On the scoreboard at the stadium, the license plate codes of the 11 Turkish provinces jolted by the quakes flashed.
Football players of both clubs, including those in the substitute benches, volunteered to remove the toys from the pitch.
This gesture is an addition to the previous donations that were made by the club’s fan group, Çarşı, who also made contributions to relieving the affected people of southeastern Türkiye.
At least 44,374 people have been killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, an official from the nation’s disaster agency said Sunday.
The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude twin quakes, centered in Kahramanmaraş province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazığ and Şanlıurfa.
More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.
Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in less than 10 hours.
On the football front, fans of Beşiktaş were left disappointed as the Black Eagles were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Antalyaspor in their Turkish Süper Lig clash.
The Beşiktaş vs. Antalyaspor match, initially scheduled for Week 14, had been tragically postponed due to the devastating YPG/PKK terrorist attack on Istiklal Street in Istanbul on Nov. 13, 2022, leaving six dead and 81 injured.
On Sunday, Beşiktaş scored the opener in the 80th minute, but the goal by Tayyip Talha Sanuc was chopped off after a video assistant referee (VAR) review as he was handballed.
Near the end of the match, Beşiktaş was awarded a penalty after Cenk Tosun was brought down in the area, but the visitors’ goalkeeper Ataberk Dadakdeniz saved his penalty kick.
The points were shared as the match ended 0-0.
Beşiktaş has 40 points in 22 matches to come third in the Süper Lig standings.
Antalyaspor, who is in the 12th spot, has 25 points in the league table.
Meanwhile, Fenerbahçe, in second place, has amassed 48 points, whereas Galatasaray still maintains pole position with an impressive 54 points.
