Turkish football clubs urge fans to join Jan. 1 Istanbul rally for Palestine

Turkish football clubs voiced support for an Istanbul rally set for Thursday to protest the ongoing massacre in Palestine, with several club leaders calling on supporters to join the event.

Galatasaray Chair Dursun Ozbek called what is happening in Gaza a "test of conscience for humanity."

"We will not get used to this silence," Ozbek said in a video message shared on US social media company X. "Standing shoulder to shoulder against oppression, we come together on the same side for humanity. On the morning of Jan. 1, we will be at Galata Bridge to be the voice of the oppressed."

Trabzonspor Chairman Ertugrul Dogan also urged fans to participate, saying the event, organized by the National Will Platform, represents "a stance, not just a march."

"They said ceasefire, but mornings in Gaza still begin with bombs," Dogan said, referring to Israel's repeated violations of the Oct. 10 ceasefire. "The Trabzonspor community stands with the oppressed against oppression."

In a video message, Besiktas Chair Serdar Adali echoed the call, saying "the bloodshed and tears in Palestine have not stopped," and urging unity in opposition to the violence.

Other Turkish Super Lig clubs, including Fenerbahce, Basaksehir, Konyaspor, Kayserispor, and Gaziantep FK, issued statements on social media expressing support for the rally and calling on the public to take part.

The event is scheduled to start at 8.30 am local time (0530GMT) on Thursday at Istanbul's Galata Bridge.

Earlier, a joint platform of civil society groups held a news conference at the headquarters of the Turkish Youth Foundation (TUGVA), where the chairs of Besiktas, Galatasaray, and Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce board member Ertan Torunogulları expressed their support for the march.

During the news conference, Bilal Erdogan, chair of the Ilim Yayma Foundation's board of trustees and a member of TUGVA's High Advisory Board, emphasized that more than 70,000 civilians and at least 20,000 children have been killed in the Gaza genocide since October 2023.

Several other sports clubs also called for support for the march.

Since the Oct. 10 ceasefire deal that halted the two-year Israeli war, at least 414 people have been killed and over 1,100 others injured, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.