Soccer euphoria clouded by downturn in economy-by Ilnur Cevik
Turks were glued to their TV sets over the weekend as the league championship ended in high drama with Galatasaray becoming top of the first division and Fenerbahce being placed a close second. For many Turks the championship race was much more important than their pockets. Millions of Galatasaray fans celebrated throughout Sunday night and Monday all over the country. Suddenly all of Turkey's current problems were forgotten, much to the relief of the government. It seems the Erdogan government would really have been extremely happy if Turkey had managed to qualify for next month’s World Cup Soccer Finals in Germany as this would have been yet another source of serious distraction for the Turks.
But soon Galatasaray's success will go into the history books and the nation will be left attending to its shrinking pockets. Then, with no serious distraction, the public will start talking about economic hardships.
