Juventus Confirm They Will Play Against Galatasaray
Copyright � 1998 Nando.net
Copyright � 1998 Reuters
TURIN, Italy (Nov 30, 1998 - 12:04 EST) - Juventus confirmed on Monday they would travel to Istanbul for their politically charged Champions' League soccer match against Galatasaray but said they were still worried for their safety.
"We are ready to leave but we are not going calmly to play a match which simply does not offer calm," Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi said.
"We don't want to play at a neutral ground. We just want guarantees that we are taking a group of young players to play a football match rather than taking them into war."
European soccer's governing body UEFA has said the group B match will go ahead on Wednesday with increased security.
"We feel 99.9 percent sure that everything will be done to ensure the safety of Juventus," said a UEFA spokesman.
The match was postponed from last Wednesday due to a wave of anti-Italian sentiment in Turkey over Rome's failure to extradite Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, arrested in Italy earlier this month.
Turkey holds Ocalan responsible for thousands of deaths in 14 years of conflict between his Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and security forces.
Juventus goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi said the Turin side wanted to fly to Turkey as late as possible before kick-off and leave immediately after the match.
"We have been more or less forced to to go and play but we are very worried," Peruzzi said. "UEFA and the Italian and Turkish governments know that they have a huge responsibility. I repeat. There is a lot of worry among all our players."
