COVID-19: Turkey ends 2019/20 season in basketball
Basketball season in Turkish leagues ends with no champion, relegated clubs as part of response to coronavirus pandemic
- Sports
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 05:06 | 11 May 2020
- Modified Date: 05:06 | 11 May 2020
Turkey ended all basketball leagues on Monday in response to the coronavirus pandemic as no clubs were declared champions.
"As Turkish Basketball Federation board of management, today we ended all our leagues. No clubs will be declared champions in our leagues. No relegation or promotions will be applied," the country's basketball body chief Hidayet Turkoglu said in a press conference.
Turkoglu said that the board took this decision to save a few years of Turkish basketball rather than a period of 1.5 months as they held talks with clubs.
He added that they were unable to make return plans because of the pandemic.
On March 19, Turkey suspended all competitions in four major sports: football, basketball, handball, and volleyball to stem the spread of the virus.