Cyprus Problem | Football Agreement Has Problems

Cyprus Problem – Football Agreement Has Problems

While a great deal is being made of the the signing of a provisional arrangement for the organisation of football in Cyprus, it has been made clear by Turkish Cypriots that unless the basic parameters of that agreement are changed then it is highly likely that there will be no final acceptance. ‘There is a signature, not an agreement”, was Halkin Sesi newspaper’s (06.11.13) headline. The paper writes that Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) President Hasan Sertoğlu commented that:

“I do not accept this text. This text is not an agreement. This text cannot go to the general assembly in this form. I told Blatter that we could not take it in this form and our objections were accepted. In any case, if this text goes to the general assembly as it is, I will do whatever I can in order for not being accepted”.

The document was co-signed by Cyprus Football Association (CFA) President Costakis Koutsokoumnis and Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) President Hasan Sertoğlu. FIFA President Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini confirmed this arrangement as witnesses. The main objection is simply that the Turkish Cypriot football clubs will be under the control of the Greek Cypriot football organisation, which will be the only internationally recognised football authority. One comment, from Hasan Ercakica spokesman of the former TRNC President Mehmet Ali Tala, was that the agreement went against what the north was trying to achieve in the Cyprus Talks. He said:

“I know that the Cyprus problem derives from the fact that the Turkish Cypriots do not accept to be administrated by the Greek Cypriot side and as a person who paid important prices for the solution and forced his family to also pay prices, I cannot accept entering under such administration”.

Only time will tell but, on the face of it, it looks as if the north’s CTFA have accepted subservience in order for the north’s football clubs to survive.

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