The Turkish Super Cup final between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray has reportedly been cancelled amid a dispute with hosts Saudi Arabia.
Both teams did not report to the Al-Awwal Park stadium ahead of the 20.45pm local time (17.45pm GMT) kick-off for the match, as clubs held talks with the Turkish Football Federation.
Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet reported that the match has not been cancelled with an agreement unable to be found.
The dispute reportedly centred around Saudi Arabian authorities blocking both clubs from displaying banners and wearing shirts featuring the words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s founder.
Reports had earlier claimed Saudi officials had blocked Turkey’s national anthem from being played ahead of the match. These reports were denied by the Turkish Football Federation.
The Turkish Super Cup has reportedly been cancelled in Saudi Arabia over a dispute with the hosts
Fans were pictured inside the stadium ahead of kick-off but neither team arrived at the venue
Talks between the clubs and the Turkish Football Federation reportedly failed to find a solution
‘The Super Cup match will start in the presence of our Turkish flag, with 100th anniversary celebration events, a moment of silence for our martyrs and our National Anthem to be read by artist Norm Ender,’ the federation told Anadolu Agency.
Galatasaray President Dursun Ozbek and Fenerbahce counterpart Ali Koc reportedly held a crunch meeting with Turkish Football Federation President Mehmet Buyukeksi to determine whether the match would take place.
Galatasaray had announced prior to the match the team would wear a special shirt commemorated the 100th anniversary of Turkey.
‘We will go to the Fenerbahce match with our jersey specially prepared for the 100th anniversary of our Republic,’ Galatasaray wrote on social media.
Turkish reports claim Saudi authorities did not allow a banner featuring the statement ‘Peace at Home, Peace in the World’ and Ataturk t-shirts being displayed ahead of the match.
Cumhuriyet reported talks have failed to deliver a solution with the match now having been cancelled.
Both clubs are reportedly expected to leave Saudi Arabia this evening.
