UEFA, European soccer's ruling body, last night played for time by deciding to postpone tomorrow night's Champions League tie between Turkish side Galatasaray and Italians Juventus for one week until December 2nd.
UEFA were careful not to elaborate on the reasons for their decision, but, clearly, it was motivated by concerns for the safety and security of the Juventus party in the wake of the Italy's continued refusal to extradite the Kurdistan Workers' Party (KPP) leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
UEFA rejected pressure to stage the game at a neutral venue, rather than in Istanbul. Clearly, they hope tensions between the countries will ease over the next week, allowing the game to be played against a relatively normal, if understandably partisan, background. Long before UEFA took their decision, it was clear that the Juventus players were uneasy about a fixture at the Ali Sami Yen stadium. What is more, the Juventus players had two good sets of reasons, one socio-political, the other grounded purely on football. Like everyone else in Italy, the players have seen television images of the recent virulent anti-Italian feeling provoked by the extradition demand. While Italy argues that its constitution prohibits extradition to a country (such as Turkey) with the death penalty on its statute book, Turkey has angrily insisted on the extradition of a man it considers a "terrorist", responsible for the deaths of over 29,000 people during his 14-year armed campaign for Kurdish self-rule in mainly Kurdish south-eastern Turkey. TV images of the Italian tricolour being burned in the streets of Ankara and Istanbul, the sight of angry mobs smashing up imported Italian fruit and vegetable, and reports of shops proudly displaying "No Italian Goods Sold Here" hardly suggested that Juventus were heading for a warm reception in Istanbul.'
Worse, the anti-Italian popular mood had been reinforced by a series of menacing statements from the Turkish prime minister, Mesut Yilmaz, such as "every wrong turn has a very hard price to pay and the Turkish state is powerful enough to make Italy pay". Against such a background, the reluctance of the Juventus players and staff to travel to Istanbul hardly came as a surprise. Furthermore, the club had made it clear last week that they considered the tie a risk by discouraging fans from travelling. Even the VIP fans, for whom places on the Juventus team plane are often set aside - politicians, business associates, families and friends - were politely told no places would be available. Only those travelling to Istanbul for business - players, team staff and journalists - were encouraged to travel. Speaking after Sunday's disappointing 0-0 home draw with relegation battlers Empoli, Juventus and France midfielder Didier Deschamps summed up the situation succinctly: "We don't want to go to Istanbul, full stop". The irony is that, long before political considerations came into play, Juventus were already worried about the trip for the good reason that only a win in Istanbul will keep them on track for a Champions League quarter-final qualification. At the best of times, that would be a tall order - even for Juventus - and these are clearly not the best of times for the Turin club. It is not just that Juventus will be missing key players such as striker Alessandro Del Piero and Edgar Davids, both injured, as well as suspended midfielders Angelo Di Livio and Alessio Tacchinardi. More worrying is the sense that the 1998-99 vintage of Juventus is some way off the level of previous years.
Four successive Champions League draws (against Athletic Bilbao, Galatasary in Turin and Norwegians Rosenborg in Trondheim), as well as a recent 2-0 defeat by AS Roma and Sunday's draw, have all left the impression that the side is neither as aggressive up front nor as solid behind as in the last three or four seasons. The tie with Galatasaray in Istanbul was always going to provide the real acid test for this season's Juventus. UEFA's decision may well have only postponed that test by a week. It could be that, even in a relatively "normal" climate, Juventus may come to the end of a highly successful three-year Champions League road that has seen them reach the last three finals, winning one against Ajax Amsterdam and losing the other two to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.
However, for that we will have to wait another week and, not for the first time, soccer fans will need to keep a close eye on international developments to be sure the game will be played. Irish fans know all about that.
