Last we heard from Barcelona’s Arda Turan in January, he was facing 12 years in prison for sexual harassment, assault, shooting a firearm in public and carrying a weapon without a license all stemming from an incident last year.
This came on the heels of a 16-match ban last May for shoving a referee while on loan with İstanbul Başakşehir.
The 32-year-old Turkish attacking midfielder is back playing with İstanbul Başakşehir on loan in the Turkish Super Lig.
And he’s become a gentleman on the pitch.
Turan, a former Galatasaray and Atlético Madrid player, showed no matter how much of a dick you are off the pitch (or even on it sometimes), you can still have sportsmanship.
During a match Monday, Antalyaspor’s Nazim Sangaré kicked the ball off Turan and out of bounds. It was a fairly evident call, but the referee failed to see it and awarded Başakşehir the throw, despite Turan’s reaction to the ball coming off him. Turan told the ref it should be Antalyaspor’s ball, but he was having none of it and showed Sangaré a yellow for dissent. So Turan took matters into his own hands, throwing the ball out for an Antalyaspor goal kick.
It was a nice gesture from a man who has been known to lose his temper. He probably knew how Sangaré feels and empathized with him.
Of course, none of this is to excuse Turan’s past transgressions. He still should face prison if convicted, regardless of his cushy relationship with Turkish president Reccep Tayyip Erdoğan, who attended Turan’s wedding last March.
For those interested in the actual soccer, Başakşehir won the match 1-0 to move six points clear of Galatasaray atop the Super Lig standings. Turan played 74 minutes before being replaced by former Newcastle and Chelsea striker Demba Ba. Başakşehir also includes former Premier League players Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy.
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