Fenerbahce midfielder Mehmet Topal (right) was shot on Tuesday afternoon in Istanbul, Turkey amid terrorist activity in the area. (Getty)
Turkish midfielder Mehmet Topal was shot Tuesday, with links to terrorist motives. The Fenerbahce player was on the Asian side of Istanbul on Tuesday when two to three rounds of gunshots were fired at the car driven by Mehmet Topal. The 29-year-old was unharmed in the attack and called the police hotline to alert authorities.
Read below about more regarding the shooting of Topal at a toll-booth in Sancaktepe.
1. Topal Was Returning From Fenerbahce Practice
Topal was preparing for the start of the Turkish Super Lig on August 16, 2015. (Getty)
Fenerbahce had a practice on Tuesday and, on the way home, Topal and teammate Uygar Zeybek were shot.
Two or three shots were fired at Topal’s black Mercedes-Benz SUV:
Fenerbahce midfielder Mehmet Topal has escaped unharmed after his car was shot at by unknown gunmen. pic.twitter.com/SVlVXH19GY
— FourFourTweet (@FourFourTweet) August 11, 2015
Both were unharmed, as Topal drove an armored vehicle, and Topal was able to talk with authorities about the shooting. Topal said to the police that he and Zeybek were fine and police are looking for suspects.
2. This Is Not The First Time That There Was A Shooting Involving a Fenerbahce Player
Fenerbahce vice-president Deniz Tolga Aytore (left) , Fenerbahce vice-president Mahmut Uslu (center) and Fenerbahce vice-president Sekip Mosturoglu (right) give a press conference at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul on April 6, 2015 after shots were fired at a Fenerbahce bus in Trabzonspor. (Getty)
In April, Fenerbahçe’s team bus was similarly attacked by gunmen on a highway in Trabzonspor after a match. Fenerbahce had beaten Caykur Rizespor 5-1 and were traveling to the airport for a flight back to Istanbul. The governor of Trabzon, Abdil Celil Oz, said the two suspects, one aged 37 and the other 27, were detained. He said one of them is believed to have followed the convoy while the other fired shots at the bus.
The shooters were released on April 8, 2015 for a lack of concrete evidence.
Feherbahce suspended play for a week to investigate the shooting.
3. Turkey Is On High Terror Alert
A police car stands outside the destroyed police station in the Sultanbeyli district in Istanbul on August 10, 2015, after a suspected suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives at the police station just after midnight. (Getty)
On Monday August 10, 2015, there was a terrorist attack in Turkey in which a police station was bombed.
The violence began around 1 AM Monday in Istanbul’s Sultanbeyli district, police said, when a vehicle-borne bomb exploded near the police station, wounding at least 10 people:
Two DHKP-C militants stage terrorist attack on US consulate in Istanbul | Today's Front Page
http://t.co/vHhNQEc6ad pic.twitter.com/32cRMPcYKP
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) August 11, 2015
Around 6:45 a.m., assailants opened fire at security forces who were guarding the damaged police station, Turkey’s semiofficial Anadolu news agency reported. By the time the carnage was done, one person had died, not including two attackers, killed after police returned fire, and at least 10 others were wounded.
Anadolu also reported that four policemen died and another was injured in a remote-controlled roadside bomb attack Monday morning in southeastern Sirnak province, in eastern Turkey, about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) from Istanbul.
Two woman also attacked the US Consulate in Istanbul. Anadolu said the women belonged to the far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party, which is classified as a terror group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. In a statement, that leftist group — also known as DHKP-C — claimed responsibility for the attack and warned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party “who is trying to impress the U.S.” of more to come.
This is not the first time that there were attacks on the US Consulate, as in July 2008, gunmen attacked the consulate in Istanbul. Three Turkish police officers and three gunmen died in the ensuing gunbattle. Also, in February 2013, an attacker from a leftist group labeled by the Turkish government as a terrorist organization detonated a suicide bomb at the entrance to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, killing himself and a Turkish security guard, and maiming a Turkish journalist.
4. Topal Has Been A Part of Transfer Rumors To England
Topal played for Valencia CF in Spain before coming to Fenerbahce and was rumored to move to London, England and play for Tottenham. (Getty)
English Premier League side Tottenham approached Topal and Fenerbahce with a 6 million euro offer for the defensive midfielder, but were rebuffed. Tottenham is light in the midfield right now and were interested in Topal’s 87% pass completion rate.
Arsenal had also put in a bid for Topal.
5. Topal Has 49 International Caps for the Turkish National Team
The aggressive defensive midfielder has been a force in the Turkish midfield since 2008. (Getty)
Topal has lined up for International duty 64 times, between U18 to senior national team, and has scored once.
Topal is nicknamed Örümcek, or spider, due to his ability to use his long legs to win loose balls or cut pass defenders.
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Turkish Midfielder Mehmet Topal Shot: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know