Cyprus' ethnic split stops player joining practice - 7M sport

Cyprus' ethnic split stops player joining practice



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Posted Tuesday, June 28, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

A Greek Cypriot club said on Tuesday that a Turkish Cypriot player from the breakaway north of divided Cyprus was prevented from joining a team practice session in a development seen as sports being influenced by politics.

Alki FC spokesman Michalis Markou said that Turkish Cypriot authorities stopped forward Mustafa Yasinses on Monday from crossing into the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south to join the session.

Turkish Cypriots playing for Greek Cypriot teams is rare on the island which was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of a union with Greece.

Yasinses recently signed a four-year deal with Alki in the southern coastal resort of Larnaca, making him only the fifth Turkish Cypriot player to join a Greek Cypriot club since a ban on crossing a United Nations-controlled cease-fire line was lifted in 2003.

“From what we know, the player was due to arrive on Monday for a training session but never turned up,” Markou told the Associated Press. “We were later informed that he had been denied permission to cross at the check point by the Turkish Cypriot administration.”

Markou said the club would unveil their new signings next week and is “concerned with the latest developments.”

Yasinses, 23, played in the unrecognized Turkish Cypriot football league before signing with Alki.

Ali Basman, the chairman of his former team, reportedly said that his club would never give their consent to Yasinses joining Alki.

According to media reports Tuesday, Turkish Cypriot authorities told Yasinses that he was not being allowed to cross into the south because of “military service obligations.”

It’s not the first time that Turkish Cypriot players moving to Greek Cypriot teams has sparked controversy.

In 2004, two Turkish Cypriots, Coskun Ulusoy and Ali Imam, joined club Nea Salamina amid protests from the north.

Only football clubs registered with the FIFA and UEFA-sanctioned Cyprus Football Association in the south can compete in international competitions.

Cyprus’ Olympic teams feature several Turkish Cypriot athletes.

Tag:
Cyprus


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