Soccer fans in Istanbul threw thousands of stuffed animals and toys onto a soccer field in support of child survivors, and to commemorate child victims, from the catastrophic earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria.
The combined death toll from the earthquakes in both countries surpassed 50,000 lives.
To allow for the donations in remembrance of the young victims, Sunday's game was paused at 4 minutes and 17 seconds to correspond with the time of the first earthquake–which struck at 4:17 a.m. local time on February 6.
Toys of various colors and sizes filled the pitch at Beşiktaş' home stadium of Vodafone Park during their match against Antalyaspor.
Beşiktaş will donate the toys to the survivors.
Here is a video of stadium patrons participating in the "This Toy is For You" event by showering the pitch with plush toys.
\u201cFans of Istanbul soccer team Besiktas fans threw thousands of stuffed toys onto the soccer field during Sunday's match against Antalyaspor to donate to children impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and neighboring Syria https://t.co/BxRDKXKGRU\u201d— Reuters (@Reuters) 1677525000
Here is a clip of the collected bags of toys, which included a monkey plush attached with a letter appearing to be hand-written by a child.
\u201c@Tactical_Times The toys thrown for the earthquake victims in the Be\u015fikta\u015f - Antalyaspor match played yesterday were prepared in the #besiktas organization to be sent to the relevant places. \n Believe me guys, believe me guys. We will see good days, sunny days #BesiktASK #Turkey #Turkiye \ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddf7\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
\u201c@Tactical_Times Wow this video is one of the greatest I have watched in my life \ud83d\udc94\u2764\ufe0f\ud83c\udf39\ud83d\ude18\ud83d\ude22\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
\u201c@Tactical_Times\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
Here is another impressive view from the event.
\u201c@Tactical_Times Besiktas Fans are the best Fans in the world\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
\u201c@Tactical_Times @thatpaulwright I have been to Turkiye many times and I have always found the people to be fantastic. This doesn`t surprise me.\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
Social media users reached for boxes of tissues after viewing the epic gesture of goodwill.
\u201c@Tactical_Times \ud83d\ude2d football is the best sport ever\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
\u201c@Tactical_Times Heartwarming \ud83d\udc99\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
\u201c@Tactical_Times \ud83e\udd72\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\ude4f\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
\u201c@Tactical_Times The most beautiful view in the world \ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udda4\ud83e\udd0d\ud83d\udda4\ud83e\udd0d\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
\u201c@Tactical_Times Beautiful. Football can produce some lovely moments of humanity.\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
\u201c@Tactical_Times best supporters in the world! Be\u015fikta\u015f! \ud83e\udd85\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\uddf7\u201d— The Tactical Times (@The Tactical Times) 1677443274
According to CNN, players rushed to collect the toy donations as the scoreboard displayed license plate numbers representing the eleven Turkish provinces impacted by the earthquakes.
Some fans denounced the Turkish government for its poor response to the disaster and chanted, “government resign."
In response to the anti-government sentiment, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s partner in government–the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli–quit his Beşiktaş membership and also called for soccer matches to resume without fans.
The Turkish interior ministry’s disaster and emergency management authority reported that 44,000 people have been confirmed dead from the earthquakes that reached 7.7 and 7.6 on the Richter scale in the southeastern city of Kahramanmaraş.
Reuters also reported the earthquakes claimed 5,000 lives in Syria, making the combined death toll with Turkey to surpass 50,000.
