Turkey’s Football ‘Emperor’ Who Warned About Virus Tests Positive

(Bloomberg) --

T​​​​urkey’s best-known soccer coach, who urged authorities to postpone matches due to the coronavirus outbreak, has tested positive for the disease and is in quarantine.

After Fatih Terim’s Istanbul-based Galatasaray team played a goalless draw with Besiktas without spectators on March 15, Terim said games should be delayed because it was impossible to prevent players from kissing and celebrating each other on the field. “All of our lives are in danger,” he said.

Four days later, Galatasaray’s Vice Chairman Abdurrahim Albayrak was placed under quarantine and later tested positive for the disease. Turkey’s Sports Ministry has in the meantime postponed all sports matches.

Terim guided Galatasaray to UEFA Cup and Super Cup titles in 2000 and earned the title “Emperor Terim” for his iron discipline. He joined Italy’s Fiorentina club for a year in the wake of his European successes.

In addition to the restrictions on sports, Turkey has also shut down tens of thousands of businesses to slow the spread of the virus as deaths rose to 44 and the number of infected patients climbed to 1,872, according to the latest data on Tuesday.

Below are other measures Turkey has taken to limit the impact of the outbreak:

• Suspension of tax payments for millions
• Ruling AK Party is proposing that companies and individuals who default on their debt by March 25 shouldn’t be a put on a blacklist by financial institutions, according to a draft bill seen by Bloomberg
  • Defaults won’t affect a company’s credit score, and creditors won’t be held responsible either for restructured or new loans, in case of future defaults, should the draft bill be approved by parliament without any changes
• The banking regulator eased the capital adequacy ratio and net foreign-currency position-calculation rules for banks until the end of 2020 after the lira depreciated 9% since the beginning of the year, creating pressure on lenders.
• Banks offered customers some relief from debt repayments and pledged more cash
• Turkey ordered groceries, markets to shorten working hours and limit the number of customers shopping at the same time
• Buses were ordered to carry passengers at no more than half capacity for social distancing

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