Turkish supporters attending an international football friendly against Greece on Nov. 17 refused to participate in a minute of silence following the recent jihadist attacks on France, choosing instead to boo the commemoration.

A section of the crowd at Fatih Terim Stadium in Istanbul’s Başakşehir district had first whistled during the playing of the Greek national anthem, prompting Turkish star Arda Turan to remonstrate with the crowd. Arda’s intervention, however, failed to stop the booing.

During the subsequent moment of silence, supporters also whistled their disapproval while a section of the crowed also reportedly shouted “Allah-u Akbar” and “Martyrs don’t die, the homeland will not be divided” – a common nationalist slogan.

“We’re staging a moment of silence for people that have died. Can’t we be patient for one minute? When we go abroad, we’re not able to explain this,” Turkish national team coach Fatih Terim said after the match. “It doesn’t reflect well on us at all.”

The match ended in a 0-0 draw.

The behavior in Başakşehir was in stark contrast to the scenes at London’s Wembley Stadium, where English and French fans both sang the Marseillaise before the match before studiously observing the minute of silence.

The booing ahead of the Greece game produced a reaction both at home and abroad.

One month ago, Turkish supporters in the Central Anatolian province of Konya also booed a minute of silence for the victims of the Oct. 10 Ankara Massacre, in which 100 peace activists were killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Source: hurriyetdailynews

Turkish fans booed during the minute’s silence for the victims of the Paris attacks before their national team drew 0-0 with Greece in a friendly international soccer game on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

The mark of respect was observed at matches across Europe, including at Wembley where France faced England, after Islamic State militants struck Paris on Friday killing 129 people.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras watched the game together, in a sign of reconciliation between the two neighbors, whose relationship has suffered from hostilities in the past.

It was the first time the two teams had met for eight years and the Turkish Football Federation had announced a string of additional security measures before the match at the Istanbul Basaksehir stadium, which was a 17,000 sell out.

Turkey, who have not lost this year, are preparing ahead of Euro 2016, which they qualified for in third place in their group. They enjoyed a 2-1 victory away to Qatar last week.

Greece’s German coach Michael Skibbe led out a team in Turkey for the first time since he had spells at Galatasaray, Eskisehirspor and Karabukspor from 2008 to October this year.

However, the occasion was a disappointment with both teams trying out new players in a game of few chances with former European champions Greece, who failed to qualify for the Euros, having just one goal attempt against Turkey’s 12.

Turkish football fans boo moment of silence for victims of Paris attacks Shouting Alla-u-Akbar

Terrorist State of Turkey fans boo minute’s silence for Paris victims