Galatasaray heed Turkish president's call to rename stadia

Turkish football giants Galatasaray have decided to rename their stadium on the orders of nation's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said the word "arena" needed to be removed from sports complexes countrywide.

The board of directors of one of Turkey's most successful soccer clubs on Saturday decided to change the home ground's name to Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex Turk Telekom Stadium as of May 29. The last word in the name of the Istanbul club's stadium previously had been "Arena", reports Efe.

Erdogan announced on Friday that the word "arena" was to be dropped from all stadiums across the country.

"I am against 'arenas'. You know what they do in arenas, don't you? People were dismembered there (by animals)," Erdogan said.

"I have given the instruction to the (sports) minister, and we will remove the name 'arena' from stadiums. There is no such thing in our language. Look at the definition; there cannot be such a thing," he added.

Erdogan's order also affects other major Turkish football clubs such as Besiktas, whose home ground is Vodafone Arena.

--IANS

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