Eight people died and more than 50 were injured in Turkey from excitement during celebrations after Istanbul soccer team Galatasaray's UEFA Cup victory over Arsenal, newspapers reported yesterday. Tens of thousands of people toured the city centre blaring car horns, and singing chants. Others fired guns into the air in a traditional but officially discouraged form of celebration.
A two-year-old girl was reported to have died in hospital in the southeast from a head wound caused by a stray bullet.
In the central town of Tokat an 18-year-old youth was also accidentally shot dead and another man of the same age was stabbed to death in a fight in the western city of Denizli, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
Two people were reported to have died in car accidents as revellers raced around towns.
The newspaper said 50 people had been injured in various ways throughout the country, including 15 with bullet wounds in Istanbul.
Meanwhile Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday bestowed the Medal of Honour on Galatasaray club chairman Faruk Suren in an official ceremony at the Ankara Youth Fair.
The Spanish league champions will be crowned tomorrow night with Barcelona needing to beat Celta Vigo at the Nou Camp while relying on Espanyol beating Deportivo La Coruna, who are on the verge of winning their first championship. Barcelona and Real Zaragoza are both three points behind Deportivo La Coruna but both have superior goal difference.
In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen need just a point to win their first Bundesliga crown, but today they face a tenacious opponents in Unterhaching, who have one of the best home records in the league.
Theoretically Bayern Munich can still pip Leverkusen. A win at home over Werder Bremen and a victory by Unterhaching would leave them level on 73 points but with Bayern having the better goal difference.
Belgian soccer was embroiled in a new corruption scandal yesterday after two former first division players admitted to receiving money for match fixing.
Dutchman Coen Burg and Belgian Marc Cox, both former players at Westerlo, told anti-corruption investigators this week they had been paid 25,000 Belgian francs for their side to lose against strugglers Kortrijk on April 18th, 1999.
Kortrijk won the game 4-2, but were ultimately relegated after finishing the season 17th in the 18-club division.
Belgian investigators are probing allegations that Dutch drug barons involved in a smuggling operation ran a betting syndicate on Belgian matches and recruited Burg. Both players told the investigation they were unaware of being involved in a gambling ring.
Swedish coach Tommy Soderberg has called up Celtic striker Henrik Larsson, whose season was ruined by a broken leg, to attend a pre-Euro 2000 training camp in Gothenburg next week.
"This is my last chance of making it to the Euro 2000 finals. I have nothing to lose," Larsson said. He said he was fully recovered from the broken leg he suffered seven months ago and was ready to be a substitute for Celtic in their final game against Dundee United. Meanwhile Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas (26) has been rewarded for a solid season with a new four-year contract. The Greek international has been in discussions with the club over an improved deal for several months. Bradford manager Paul Jewell has offered veteran defenders Wayne Jacobs and John Dreyer new contracts at Valley Park.
Jacobs (31) is mulling over a three-year deal while Dreyer (36) has the option of a one-year extension.
Everton's Kevin Campbell is almost certain to miss the beginning of next season. He missed the last 11 games of the season following knee surgery and he has now picked up an infection in his knee.
The president of football's governing body FIFA, Sepp Blatter, was safe in Fiji but had cancelled planned meetings following yesterday's coup, a report said. Blatter arrived on Thursday after attending the Asian Football Confederation congress in the Malaysia. Fiorentina's Giovanni Trapattoni announced yesterday he is quitting as the club's coach. He had already voiced his intention to leave after the team's disappointing exit from the Champions League in March.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)