Besiktas fans throw stuffed toys on the pitch just four minutes and 17 seconds into match

Besiktas' Cenk Tosun holds a teddy bear as fans throw toys on the pitch for children affected by earthquake during a Turkish Super League match between Besiktas and Antalyaspor at Vodafone Park in Istanbul, Turkey February 26, 2023. REUTERS

Besiktas fans threw toys onto the pitch during their game against Antalyaspor in support of those affected by earthquakes in the southeast of Turkey.

Organised by the home side, the Turkish Super League match stopped in the 17th second of the fourth minute and toys rained down from the stands to be donated to children affected by those earthquakes.

Nearly 48,000 have died as a result of the disaster on February 6 when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria and former Newcastle midfielder Christian Atsu was later confirmed as one of the victims.

As the clock strikes 04:17 (the time of the earthquake), Beşiktaş fans throw thousands of soft toys onto the pitch to be sent to kids in the affected areas.

Again, proud that this is my club. I love this club.pic.twitter.com/mAJiykrMKr

— Can Okar (@canokar) February 26, 2023

Following the game’s restart, the teams played out a 0-0 draw as Istanbul’s Besiktas moved into third in the table.

A statement from Besiktas said: “Our fans organised a meaningful event called ‘this toy is my friend’ during our A team’s football match with Antalyaspor at Vodafone Park in order to give morale to the children affected by the earthquake that stifled our country.

“Our fans, to give morale to the children in the earthquake zone, in the 17th second of the fourth minute of the match threw scarves, hats and cuddly toys on the Vodafone Park pitch.

Besiktas fans threw thousands of stuffed toys onto the pitch during Sunday's match against Antalyaspor to donate to children impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and neighbouring Syria. The Turkish Super Lig game, which ended 0-0, was paused after 4 minutes and 17 seconds to allow fans to throw the gifts onto the pitch. The earthquake first struck Turkey at 04:17 local time on Feb. 6.

"Bir başkadır benim memleketim..." pic.twitter.com/cipmCNXUry

— beIN SPORTS Türkiye (@beINSPORTS_TR) February 26, 2023

"Our fans threw scarves, berets and plush toys on the ground of Vodafone Park to be given as a gift to the children in the earthquake region to cheer them up," Besiktas said in a club statement.

Besiktas fans threw thousands of stuffed toys onto the pitch during a Turkish league match.
©AFP

The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and neighbouring Syria has crossed 50,000. Ghana winger Christian Atsu was among the victims, having been found dead on Feb. 18 under the building where he lived in southern Turkey.