Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has defended his T-shirt tribute
to Nelson Mandela, insisting he would do it “again and again,” despite
facing a fine from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).
The Galatasary forward, who spent eight years at Stamford Bridge
before moving on to Shanghai Shenhua and now the Turkish champions,
removed his shirt to reveal the words ‘Thank you Madiba’ after the 2-0
win over Elazigspor on Friday.
However, Drogba had not received
permission to reveal the wording and could now face a sanction, with the
Turkish FA keen to crack down on political references in football games
following instructions from FIFA.
The 35-year-old took to his
official Instagram page to respond to the possibility of any sanction
coming his way from the senior figures in Turkish football.
He
posted: “I’d be very interested to see your comments on this…but I’m
sorry if I had to I would do it again and again. Nor [sic] because of
political beliefs but because this man inspired me, a country, a
continent, the world!!!!! Thanks again Madiba.”
The TFF recently
charged players of Fethiyespor for wearing t-shirts which read: ‘Great
Ataturk’, referring to the founder of modern Turkey and could now follow
a similar process with Drogba.
Fellow Ivory Coast international
Emmanuel Eboue, also at Galatasaray after leaving Arsenal in 2011, also
faces a fine after revealing a ‘Rest in Peace Nelson Mandela’ message
embossed onto his undershirt.
before moving on to Shanghai Shenhua and now the Turkish champions,
removed his shirt to reveal the words ‘Thank you Madiba’ after the 2-0
win over Elazigspor on Friday.
However, Drogba had not received
permission to reveal the wording and could now face a sanction, with the
Turkish FA keen to crack down on political references in football games
following instructions from FIFA.
The 35-year-old took to his
official Instagram page to respond to the possibility of any sanction
coming his way from the senior figures in Turkish football.
He
posted: “I’d be very interested to see your comments on this…but I’m
sorry if I had to I would do it again and again. Nor [sic] because of
political beliefs but because this man inspired me, a country, a
continent, the world!!!!! Thanks again Madiba.”
The TFF recently
charged players of Fethiyespor for wearing t-shirts which read: ‘Great
Ataturk’, referring to the founder of modern Turkey and could now follow
a similar process with Drogba.
Fellow Ivory Coast international
Emmanuel Eboue, also at Galatasaray after leaving Arsenal in 2011, also
faces a fine after revealing a ‘Rest in Peace Nelson Mandela’ message
embossed onto his undershirt.
written by Joe Krishnan
