By Fatih Erel
ISTANBUL
Turkey met the required conditions to host EURO 2024 and expects "fair evaluation”, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.
The UEFA Executive Committee will meet in Nyon, Switzerland, on Sept. 27 to decide on the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship (EURO 2024) host between Turkey and Germany.
UEFA to decide on Euro2024 host nation
Speaking to Germany’s Funke media group ahead of UEFA decision, Erdogan said: “We expect fair evaluation”.
Underling that Turkey built new stadiums and sports complexes in big cities compared to other European countries, Erdogan said: "If UEFA would make an objective evaluation, it could see these facts."
On the Turkish-German footballer Mesut Ozil's decision to quit the German national team, Erdogan defended the footballer, saying: "Ozil didn't quit German national team without reason.
“Everyone who faces similar racist abuse and insults would react the same."
In July, Ozil quit the national team, citing racial discrimination. Ozil also said that the German Football Association (DFB) head failed to support him when he received hate mails, threatening phone calls, and racist comments on social media. Grindel later admitted that he had not been supportive enough.
The president also rejected the rumors on the Turkish economy and said Turkey is a rather dynamic and productive country regarding tourism.
“There should not be any doubt about the rise in sponsors, advertisement revenue and having stadiums with full of football fans in the championship,” Erdogan said.
The UEFA Executive Committee will announce the host of EURO 2024 at 03.45 p.m. (Turkish local time) [12.45 p.m. GMT] on Thursday.
