Manchester Airport has hit refuted claims by Turkish champions Galatasaray that club staff were treated ‘immorally’ following their Champions League win over Manchester United on Tuesday night.
The Turkish Super Lig giants travelled home through Manchester Airport in the hours following their famous 3-2 victory at Old Trafford. After the game, Galatasaray fans tore down half of a Sir Matt Busby banner, but thankfully it has been restored in time for Saturday’s game against Brentford.
However, according to the Manchester Evening News a handful of club officials were abusive towards terminal employees during bag checks.
Galatasaray felt they had been unfairly treated and released a statement on the matter.
It read: “Following the match against Manchester United last night, which we played and won, it has become necessary to make this statement in response to the behaviour of the British authorities during the return of the plane carrying the Galatasaray delegation.
“This disrespectful behaviour, which started with the difficulties that the British Consulate General in Istanbul caused to the players, technical delegation and staff of our team during the visa process, continued during the entry of our team into the UK, and as of last night (Tuesday), it has turned into an immoral treatment that violates universal human rights values.
“The departure of our team flight, which was late last night, was unnecessarily prolonged and turned into a torture with unreasonably detailed baggage checks. In this process, the behaviour of the officials, the disrespect and insolence are indicative of an attitude taken against our country.
“It must be known that no one can treat the players, technical staff and executives of Galatasaray Sports Club, the pride of Turkey, in this way. We share with the public that we will fight against the owners of this immoral behaviour until the end.
“Regardless of all these incidents, we would like to thank the representatives of Manchester United for kindly hosting our club before and after the match.”
The contents of Galatasaray’s statement have been denied by Manchester Airport.
In a statement to the MEN, a Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “We do not tolerate abuse or aggressive behaviour towards any of our staff. On Tuesday night, while the majority of passengers travelling to Turkey behaved impeccably, a small number were abusive and aggressive to staff.
“Some passengers also arrived with non-compliant hand baggage and those bags were therefore subject to hand searches, leading to further hostility from the passengers.
“These events led to police being called to the scene. The situation was resolved without the need for arrests and all those involved were able to continue on their journeys.”
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