Reuters : Turkey's Emre Belozoglu given suspended jail term for racist slur

Turkish footballer Emre Belozoglu was handed a two-month 15 days suspended jail sentence on Tuesday for a racist slur he used against Ivory Coast midfielder Didier Zokora during a match in 2012.

The court sentenced the Fenerbahce and Turkey national team midfielder on the grounds that the act constituted an insult crime of "religious, racist, ethnic, sexist or sectarian discrimination."

The incident, in which Zokora accused Belozoglu of calling him the "N" word, occurred in April 2012 at a playoff match between Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor.

The sentence was suspended by the court as Belozoglu had not had any previous incidents of a racist nature, the judge said, and on belief that he would not repeat his behaviour.

Belozoglu was accused of racism three times during his three-year career at Newcastle United, but the English FA's investigations failed to prove the accusations.

Belozoglu became the first Turkish footballer ever to have been handed a prison sentence for racism.

Zokora, in Brazil now for the World Cup, had previously played in England for Tottenham Hotspur.

Source : Reuters 

Mancini Leaves Galatasaray

Galatasaray and Mancini came to terms to end their working relationship ....

Mancini took over the job back in September of 2013 when Fatih Terim left the team.

Despite winning the Turkish Cup and finishing second place in the Turkish Super League,

Galatasaray and Mancini  ended their relationship with mutual agreement , Club said .

On Galatasaray official website , this is what was published....

"Our relationship with coach Roberto Mancini and his contract of employment, which was signed on October 1, 2013, has been terminated by mutual agreement,"  We wholeheartedly thank (Mancini) for his success and achievements and wish him happiness in his next mission. "



Mancini said, He will miss Istanbul and Galatasaray and explained why he left Galatasaray...

“As a Coach I understand the demands of my club,” Mancini said. “When I accepted the post of Galatasaray Coach the targets were different.

“In these eight months, though I came in during a season that had already been partly damaged, I have done my job with passion and in constant pursuit of victory.

“This was followed by Champions League qualification, the Turkish Cup and second place in the League.

“With regret, I leave Istanbul and the fans, which are both splendid. I give an affectionate goodbye to the President, the team and everyone I have worked with. They worked with talent and loyalty.”

Mancini  also said, Galatasaray targets  different when he first arrived in Turkey .

Jermaine Jones will not play for Besiktas next season !

After #USAvTURKEY  match I got a chance to interview  Besiktas's Jermaine Jones and I asked him question about his playing role in both teams and asked him if he was going to play for Besiktas next season.

Here is the video .....

USA vs Turkey 2-1 ! Highlights

Send-Off Series : USA v Turkey

Turkish National team after beating Honduras in Washington  2-0 , they will take on

#USMNT, United States National team  on Sunday at Red Bull Stadium in New Jersey at 2:00 PM.

Turkey showed some mussels  in the second half of the match against Honduras...

Fatih Terim  made a good decision to play Mevlut Erdinc and  Caner Erkin in the second half !

After slow start in the first half , Turkish National team controlled  the  match in the second half ....

Goals from Mevlut Erdinc and Caner Erkin gave Turkey 2-0 win against Honduras in RFK stadium.

USA VS TURKEY ! #USAvTURKEY

This match should be good one....

This is USA's second send off match and Klinsmann will put out his best men out there...

Last time USA met Turkey was in 2010 in Philadelphia ,USA won that match 2-1

I think, Fatih Terim will pretty much keep the lineup that he played in the second half  against Honduras..

He might inject ,Onur Kivrak in goal and Nuri Sahin and Selcuk Inan there too.

Arda Turan will not be there......

TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM COACH FATIH TERIM  IN RFK STADIUM

Terim, would want to win this match....

Ever Since he took over the team , 10 matches he won 9 of them and loss one !

Very physical USA National team could cause problems for  Turkish defense...

On the other hand, US defense, has to be careful with side attacks from Turkey.

We will see two teams playing diamond style in the middle of the filed on Sunday !

Who ever is better in that, will win the match...

IT will be very good test for USA before the World Cup......

As far as  Turkey, well ,they missed out on going  to the World Cup !

And there is many reasons for that ......

Now, Fatih Terim says,

He is developing new generation for the future......

We will see that new generation mixed in with few old ones,against USA on Sunday !

Both teams have really good keepers...

It should be really good atmosphere on Sunday afternoon in Red Bull Arena in New Jersey..

Match will start at 2: 00 PM,ET 

And, it will be packed house there...

Turkish National Team Arrives in USA

Turkish National Team came to Washington early our of Monday morning  from Ireland.

Fatih Terim's  boys practiced in the DC United training facilities n Monday night  .

They will train there today on wednesday they would hold their practice at RFK stadium.

On Monday, American soccer pioneer Hicabi "Turk"  Emekli  watched  the first practice along with his son John Emekli.

Who is Hicabi Emekli ? 

After the practice "Turk " met with Fatih Terim ...

Hicabi Emekli came to United States back in 1951 and played for Genclerbirligi....

Turkish National team will face Honduras on Thursday in RFK stadium...

After the match  ,Turkish National Team will travel to New Jersey and train at Red Bull's training center before the most important match ...

Turkey will face #USMNT United States National team on Sunday ,June 1th ...

Friday and Saturday they would hold practice in New Jersey....

Also on Saturday, both coaches #USMNT coach Klinsmann and  #Turkey's  Fatih Terim will hold press conferences at the Red Bull Arena .

THis will be huge test for #USMNT before the World Cup .....

Fatih Terim is trying to rebuild the team with young players ...

Arda Turan  is injured and probably wont play ...

Burak Yilmaz and Keeper Volkan Demirel is not with the team.

We should see very young and hungry Turkey team on Sunday against #USMNT !

Last time, back in 2010 , #USMNT beat  #Turkey 2-1 in Philadelphia ....

It should be packed house in Red Bull's Arena on  Sunday ...

I will be there .  

Turkish National Team Visit Soma

The Turkish National football team has paid their respects to the 301 victims of the disaster mine fire in Soma .

The national team visited  the town on Monday in a show of solidarity, and prayed at the miners' graves in Soma, Turkey . 

After they payed their respect , they flew back to Istanbul to train .

Turkish National team play two friedly matches in Europe before they headed to United States .

Turkish National team will arrive in DC Washington on May 26 , 2014 and will train in DC United's training facilities .

They will face Honduras on May 29th in Washington , DC. 

After the match , They will travel to New Jersey on same night . 

In New Jersey, Turkish National team will train in New York Red Bulls training facilities on Friday and Saturday .

On June1st , Sunday , Turkish National team will face #USMNT in  Red Bulls Arena . This match should be very good match .

USA faced Turkey In a send- off match back in 2010 in Phidelphia and USA won that match 2-1 !