Soccer fans in Turkey showcased a touching display of support and solidarity Sunday as they threw thousands of toys onto the field to be donated to surviving children affected by the catastrophic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
The match between Turkish Super League teams Besiktas and Antalyaspor at the Vodafone stadium in Istanbul was stopped after four minutes and 17 seconds to acknowledge the time the first earthquake struck Turkey and Syria at 4:17 a.m. on February 6. It was then that fans began throwing toys as cheers roared across the stadium.
More than 50,000 people have died following the earthquakes, per BBC.
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Watch this, and tell me you did not feel something. Football fans in Turkey throw toys down on the field to collect for the children in the earthquake zone. Such a beautiful and heartwrenching scene of love. Such big hearts. pic.twitter.com/MGzIAaT85u
— Louis Fishman لوي فيشمان לואי פישמן (@Istanbultelaviv) February 26, 2023
Besiktas' fans organized the event for when they were playing at home in Turkey's largest city. The team said its fans "organized a meaningful event called 'This toy is my friend' during the match in order to give morale to the children affected by the earthquake." The players also warmed up in tops with the names of the country's affected southern cities before a pre-match ceremony was held where fans applauded the search and rescue officers there, according to BBC.
Christian Atsu, a Ghanaian soccer player who was playing for Turkish side Hatayspor, was one of the victims of the deadly earthquakes that destroyed thousands of buildings and trapped people under them. Hatayspor is based in the city of Antakya, in southeastern Turkey, the epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that first struck only to be followed by nearly-as-strong aftershocks.
Earthquakes are continuing to strike the devastated region, with the most recent being a 5.6-magnitude quake reported in Malatya early Monday morning.
Smoke rises in Malatya after the 5,6M quake. 22 buildings collapsed. According to Yeşilyurt mayor; a rescue operation is underway for a father and his daughter who entered a house to get their belongings. Malatya's Yeşilyurt was the epicenter of the earthquake. pic.twitter.com/I385Dx1RpA
— Levent Kemal (@leventkemaI) February 27, 2023
Last week, a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the border of Turkey and Syria, with several deaths confirmed and hundreds of injuries. Thousands of aftershocks have occurred since the initial 7.8-magnitude quake.
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Amid the destruction and devastation, the soccer match offered a brief reprieve from the hopelessness that the natural disasters have caused. In rather fitting form, the match ended in a 0-0 draw.