Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Not-So-Beautiful Game

The Not-So-Beautiful Game
By ANDREW FINKEL

ISTANBUL — “Welcome to hell!” was how Istanbul fans once greeted foreign soccer teams. But now it’s Turkey’s top team that finds itself in a small hell of its own making. Not only is a recent match-fixing scandal threatening the country’s premier league, but it has also forced the governing Justice and Development (AK) Party into scoring against itself. The party that was elected in 2002 as the new broom to sweep Turkey clean looks like it’s sweeping dirt under the carpet.

More:The Not-So-Beautiful Game - NYTimes.com