Emotional scenes enveloped the Turkish Süper Lig today when thousands of stuffed animals were thrown onto the pitch to support children displaced by the country’s recent earthquakes.
Istanbul side Beşiktaş distributed thousands of stuffed animals to fans before their match against Antalyaspor.
At 4.17pm, which was when the first earthquake struck, the tens of thousands of fans hurled the toys through the air onto the pitch.
The field was quickly covered, with security and players moving the toys so the match could resume play.
The thousands of toys will be sent to children in affected areas, many of them displaced after their homes were destroyed.
One fan on Twitter said: “Again, proud that this is my club. I love this club.”
It’s estimated that around 1.5 million people across Turkey and Syria have been made homeless after the earthquakes, with entire districts being turned to rubble.
The death toll following the quakes is expected to surpass 47,000, with the vast majority of the dead from Turkey.
Turkish football fans have also had to grieve the loss of forward Christian Atsu, who played for Hatayspor and died in the earthquake.
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