TFF fines Amedspor for giving itself city’s Kurdish name!
DİYARBAKIR (DİHA) - The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has levied a 10,000-Turkish Lira fine against third-tier Diyarbakır-based club Amedspor on the grounds that it changed its name and emblem.
The TFF claimed it was sanctioning the club because it was using a name and logo that had not been officially registered with the federation. Amedspor was known as Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyespor until October 2014, when the club’s congress elected to change the name of the club to the Kurdish name for Diyarbakır, which is mostly populated by Kurds.
'Legal scandal'
The federation’s decision is a “legal scandal,” said club chair İhsan Avcı, noting that the Diyarbakır Associations Department had previously approved the name change, as well as the club’s new yellow, red and green colors, which are traditional Kurdish colors. Avcı said the TFF did not have the authority to fine the club following approval from the associations department. “We have sent our defense on the issue. We will demand the rectification of this wrong, as well as an apology to the club and the people of Diyarbakır,” he said.
(nt)
