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Turkish Cypriot Footballers Strip for Their Rights and Say: Balls to Embargoes! - 08 December 2005

London, 8 December 2005: Human rights group Embargoed! and Turkish Cypriot footballers have launched their 'Balls to Embargoes' campaign that aims to overturn a fifty year ban on international matches and tournaments. At the campaign launch on Thursday, twelve players stripped down to their bare essentials, their modesty covered by a banner with the campaign slogan “Balls to Embargoes!”. A second more serious action takes place this weekend, Turkish Cypriot players in London and North Cyprus will be wearing armbands with the word EMBARGOED! to highlight the decades old isolation of Turkish Cypriots and their homeland of North Cyprus. The protest is timed to coincide with UN Human Rights Day and the draw for the 2006 Germany World Cup [football] Finals on 10 December.

The football campaign is supported by the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA), Turkish Community Football Federation (UK), and North Cyprus Sports Writers Association. CTFA's Director of External Relations Cengiz Uzun, who was part of the jury to select players in North Cyprus, said, "Turkish Cypriots love football, but for the past 50 years we have been kept on the sidelines for political reasons. Our players are low in morale and motivation because of the embargoes, which deprives them of quality competition, facilities and career opportunities. 2006 is World Cup year, so it would be an ideal time for FIFA to end this discrimination."

For the past fifty years, only Greek Cypriot teams and players have been able to represent Cyprus in all international fixtures. Campaign organisers hope that a combination of direct action and lobbying will capture the public's attention and help pressure FIFA to lift the ban. Embargoed! patron and internationally renowned fashion designer Hussein Chalayan said, "The campaign is about human rights, not politics. Turkish Cypriots are discriminated in all walks of life, from trade to travel. We [Turkish Cypriots] are banned from all international sport - we can't even play in friendlies".

All fourteen clubs from North Cyprus' Premier League and twelve teams from the UK's Turkish Community Football Federation will be displaying EMBARGOED! armbands for this weekend's fixtures. Matches will be taking place on Saturday (North Cyprus) and at various locations across London on Sunday: at Hackney Marshes (Adanaspor vs. Samsunspor, Dogangunes vs Yalova), Hainault (Fenerbahce vs. Akincilar), Greenwich Borough (Yeni Bogazici vs. Turkmenkoy), and Walthamstow - Copper Mills Lane (Galatasaray vs. MTG).

The armband action follows a humorous start to the football campaign on Thursday 8 December, where 12 players from North Cyprus and the UK stripped for their rights. Their photographs will feature on a double-sided 'Balls to Embargoes!' poster that will distributed in January 2006.

UK players: Atilla Osman, Hakan Hasan, Kerem Bashkal (Crystal Palace), Memet Nay, Þevki Osman

North Cyprus players: Asilkan Sadikoglu, Erol Serbest, Fuat Pasa, Huseyin Adal, Salim Tayancli, Tekin Acikyildiz, Yasin Kansu
Ends/

Notes to editors


About the photograph
These are the players from the North Cyprus photo shoot on Thursday. More available on request.

About the ban on North Cyprus football
1. The current ban on Turkish Cypriots and their North Cyprus football teams stems back to 1984 when Turkish Cypriots established their own State, the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. This development led to FIFA banning all matches – including friendlies and youth games – between FIFA registered teams and those in North Cyprus. Prior to this, Turkish Cypriot teams were permitted the right by FIFA, on a match-by-match basis, to play ‘friendlies’ with other teams.

a. In April 2005, the Greek Cypriot controlled Cyprus Football Association (CFA) prevented English team Huddersfield Town AFC from playing a friendly match in North Cyprus.
b. In September 1998, FIFA fined German soccer team Bad Lippspinge, 20,000 US dollars for playing against Turkish Cypriot team Çetinkaya.

2. FIFA’s current ban on Turkish Cypriot players and teams is contrary to pledges by world leaders to end North Cyprus’ international isolation and also violates its own Statutes:
a. FIFA against discrimination, Article 3, “Discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or groups of people on account of ethnic origin, gender, language, religion, politics or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.”
b. FIFA objectives, Article 2, “to improve the game of football constantly and promote it globally in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values, particularly through youth and development programmes”

3. Professional football in Cyprus started on 23 September 1934 when the CFA was established with eight founding members, including Lefkosa Turk Birligi. In 1948, the CFA became an affiliated member of FIFA as a British Colonial football association. This was upgraded to full member status in 1960 when Cyprus gained her independence.

4. Turkish Cypriots formed their own federation, the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA), in 1955 following the prevention by Greek Cypriots of Nicosia’s Cetinkaya and other Turkish Cypriot teams playing their matches.

5. Although the CTFA had direct contact with FIFA between 1955-1984, they have never been given full member status. When Cyprus Football Association (CTFA) was granted full admission to FIFA in 1960, it was wholly staffed by Greek Cypriots. The decision to admit only the Greek Cypriot controlled CFA is in direct contravention of the 1960 Cyprus Constitution, which sets out the rights of the two indigenous peoples of Cyprus including the right to have their own sporting arrangements.

About Embargoed! – www.embargoed.org
Embargoed! is an independent human rights group campaigning for the immediate and unconditional end to all embargoes against North Cyprus. The group was launched on 4 March 2005 and aims to play an active role in raising awareness about the isolation of North Cyprus and lobbying world leaders and institutions to restore the fundamental political, economic and social rights of Turkish Cypriots.

Contact Embargoed!:• Telephone/fax: + 44 (0)20 8279 8561
• Email: mail@embargoed.org;
• Post: Embargoed! Suite 205, 14 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 1JY

Press Enquiries:
Ms. Ýpek Özerim:
T: +44 (0)777 623 0466 / +90 533 876 3166 E: ipekh@excite.com



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