Police have arrested two suspects after the headquarters of the Turkish Football Federation was attacked with gunfire on Thursday.
Former Real Madrid midfielder Hamit Altintop was forced to dive for cover along with other people inside the building at the time of the attack. Turkish media report that the TFF president’s office and a lower floor meeting room were peppered with bullets at the same time that a meeting was being held between board members.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, nobody was injured during the incident, with 11 shots being fired and five rounds hitting the building. Investigations are currently ongoing.
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Altintop was present at the time of the attack, meeting with other board members at the TFF’s headquarters. He has been the TFF’s sporting chief executive since 2019 and was involved in last week’s Champions League group stage draw.
The Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul is set to host the final of this season’s competition in June of next year. Speaking after the attack, Altintop said: “We threw ourselves to the ground as soon as we heard the shots.”
During his career, the midfielder also played for the likes of Schalke, Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, making a total of 481 club appearances and scoring 45 goals.
A league champion in Germany, Spain and Turkey, Altintop won a total of 18 major trophies as well as the 2010 Puskas Award. He also won 84 caps for Turkey and scored seven times for his country before retiring aged 35 in 2018.
Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu is also reported to have described the gunmen as being “drunk” at the time of the attack.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the country’s ruling party has since confirmed to the media that the attack took place on Thursday.
Omer Celik also revealed that he has spoken to TFF president Mehemt Buyukeksi on the phone, wishing him well after his office was targeted as part of the violent attack.
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