Turkish officials Monday denounced the "disrespect" shown to the national football team when they arrived in Iceland for a Euro 2020 qualifier. The Turkish team was kept waiting for several hours at passport control at Reykjavik airport on Sunday and subjected to extensive security checks, according to accounts from the players carried by Turkish media.
Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin took to Twitter to show his anger, slamming the "disrespect" shown to the national team and saying the treatment of the Turkish players was "unacceptable". Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency, also said the treatment was "not in line with diplomatic courtesy or sportsmanlike conduct."
The foreign ministry issued a diplomatic protest note to Iceland via the Norwegian embassy. Icelandic officials confirmed to AFP that they had received the protest but did not provide further details.
Isavia, the company who manages the airport, said the extended checks had been made for security reasons, since the airport the players originally departed from, Konya, is not party to the same security rules as airports within the EU or countries that have a related agreement. The company said it was "under obligation to carry out a security search of all passengers coming from such airports," regardless of nationality.
Comments
Comments are closed.