“There is more to life than football” – Mikel Obi panics as games continue in Turkey

Corona has crippled football in many countries, but for the time being, they don’t want to know anything about that in Turkey. The matches in the Super Lig are still being played behind closed doors, and that is against the will of some players. “I do not feel comfortable and don’t want to play football in this situation.”

The Turkish Super Lig is one of the few competitions where football is still played. Yesterday, the top match between Galatasaray and Beşiktaş was on the program. The Türk Telecom Stadium, the home base of Galatasaray, was therefore overhauled. Teams in secure suits disinfected the entire stadium, from the bench to the dressing room, to prevent contamination of the coronavirus.

Still, many players are far from comfortable with it. Trabzonspor midfielder John Mikel Obi is one of them. “There is more to life than football. I do not feel comfortable and don’t want to play football in this situation. Everyone should be home with their families and loved ones in this critical time. Season should be canceled as the world is facing such turbulent times,” he said on Instagram.

The Nigerian receives approval from Radamel Falcao. “You are absolutely right, John. Some things are more important than football,” the Colombian striker responded to his colleague’s message. But that didn’t work out much. The matches in the Turkish league continued despite the protest. And for those who want to know: Galatasaray and Trabzonspor played a draw against Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor, respectively.

Some of his followers didn’t support his opinion. “Don‘t panic; you are not in Europe, in Turkey are only 5 persons with corona. We as normal people do our job you also must do your job for my opinion,” one of his fans, e.e1998o writes. But the comment arouses indignation. “We in Europe acted too slowly. Learn from our mistake or shit will hit the fan in Turkey too!” another follower reacted to e.e1998o’s comment.