Turkish scare  for Lyon

Jul 17, 2016 06:01 am

French club Lyon were nervously awaiting a flight home from Istanbul yesterday after their friendly with Fenerbahce was cancelled because of the bloody attempted coup in Turkey.

Lyon arrived on Friday for a match scheduled for last night and even enjoyed a light training session late in the evening at Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul.

But they were soon holed up in their Marriott Asia Hotel, a good 20km away from the main violence, as hundreds died in a military uprising.

"The players are in no danger at all," club president Jean Michel Aulas said via Twitter early yesterday, while the club also tweeted a photo of the team arriving at the airport.

Turkish authorities said they had regained control of the country after thwarting an attempt by discontented soldiers to seize power from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that claimed more than 250 lives. - AFP.