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But the part of Europe that is cut off from Turkey by the Sea of Marmara is ... Turkey.
Turkey is mostly in Asia and a little bit in Europe. I'm surprised nobody's brought that up in this thread yet, as I thought it was common knowledge. In that sense, it's not unlike Russia, which is also in UEFA and whose European credentials nobody questions (even as it stands in opposition to the European Union, the very entity Turkey hopes to join). Russia's much-larger land area, coupled with the fact that the Europe-Asia border is much less well-defined up north, appears to make it seem like more of a legitimate European country -- but it must be worth something that Turkey's largest city by far, Istanbul, straddles the border, with most of the population on the European side.
fwiw, Geography in general for most is not common knowledge. We have numerous threads here on CD where it has been needed to explain all the way down to the topology. There are many, even with internet links, that categorically deny where a country actually sits. As to Turkey, most people outside of Turkey assume its part of Europe and not Asia. We can take it further that most do not know that the Middle East is part of Asia.
But the part of Europe that is cut off from Turkey by the Sea of Marmara is ... Turkey.
Turkey is mostly in Asia and a little bit in Europe. I'm surprised nobody's brought that up in this thread yet, as I thought it was common knowledge. In that sense, it's not unlike Russia, which is also in UEFA and whose European credentials nobody questions (even as it stands in opposition to the European Union, the very entity Turkey hopes to join). Russia's much-larger land area, coupled with the fact that the Europe-Asia border is much less well-defined up north, appears to make it seem like more of a legitimate European country -- but it must be worth something that Turkey's largest city by far, Istanbul, straddles the border, with most of the population on the European side.
And since we are talking about football, it's good to remember:
"Fenerbahçe SK were founded in Kadıköy that is located in the Asian side of Istanbul, while Galatasaray SK were founded in Galatasaray, on the European side of Istanbul. Both clubs naturally draw the majority of their support from the side of the city that they're native to."
"Galatasaray was founded by an all French speaking high school and is on the European side. While Fenerbahce is on the Asian side and has a largely working class following."
It's a clash of continents in football, in the same city.
Israel is part of UEFA only because many of its neighbours refuse to play them in continental competitions. For a a few years, they were actually part of the OFC, the Oceanian confederations.
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Cyprus and Georgia are crossroads between Asia and Europe, i think they can be accepted as European from a political point of view, the only exception would probably be Eastern Turkey whose history is more tied with the Middle East than Europe, but most of Turkey's inhabitants are located on the Mediterranean coast and in the Western part of the country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MalaMan
And since we are talking about football, it's good to remember:
"Fenerbahçe SK were founded in Kadıköy that is located in the Asian side of Istanbul, while Galatasaray SK were founded in Galatasaray, on the European side of Istanbul. Both clubs naturally draw the majority of their support from the side of the city that they're native to."
"Galatasaray was founded by an all French speaking high school and is on the European side. While Fenerbahce is on the Asian side and has a largely working class following."
It's a clash of continents in football, in the same city.
These differences are probably hardly relevant nowadays, politics are still heavily involved in football obviously, but the political leaning of a club can change, although gradually, so i wouldn't be sure if this is still true, but i've heard that Erdogan is a staunch supporter of Fenerbahce and has helped to cover a matchfixing scandal involving his team lately
FIFA has their own needs that are to be med by designating regionalism. They are free to use any guidelines they like, in scheduling matches between teams for a regional tournament.
In American minor-legue baseball, two of the teams in the Pacific Coast League are east of the Mississippi River. Memphis is 2,500 km from the Pacific Ocean. Nobody is trying to make a geographical statement, but rather scheduling fairness and team travel logistics..
"Fenerbahçe SK were founded in Kadıköy that is located in the Asian side of Istanbul, while Galatasaray SK were founded in Galatasaray, on the European side of Istanbul. Both clubs naturally draw the majority of their support from the side of the city that they're native to."
Yeah that is common knowledge. Great rivalry that one.
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