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Riyadh Season Explains Reasons for Calling off Turkish Super Cup Final

A view of the Al-Awwal Park stadium before the match was called off. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view of the Al-Awwal Park stadium before the match was called off. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Riyadh Season Explains Reasons for Calling off Turkish Super Cup Final

A view of the Al-Awwal Park stadium before the match was called off. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view of the Al-Awwal Park stadium before the match was called off. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Riyadh Season explained on Saturday the reasons for calling off the Turkish Super Cup final that was set to be held between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce at the Al-Awwal Park stadium in the Saudi capital on Friday.

In a statement, Riyadh Season expressed pride in the “close relationship” with Türkiye in various fields, including sports.

It said it was looking forward to holding the match as scheduled and according to football regulations and guidelines which stipulate that non-sports slogans are barred from matches.

The issue and regulations were underscored during discussions with the Turkish football federation in preparation for the final, continued the statement.

“An agreement was reached to play the Turkish national anthem and display the Turkish flag inside the stadium, given Türkiye's standing,” it added.

In spite of this agreement, “the two teams, unfortunately, did not respect it and the match was consequently called off,” it explained.

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Sinner Beats Zverev in 3 Sets for his 2nd Australian Open Title in a Row

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
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Sinner Beats Zverev in 3 Sets for his 2nd Australian Open Title in a Row

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany in the men's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Jannik Sinner claimed his second consecutive Australian Open championship on Sunday, never facing a single break point and using his complete game to outplay and frustrate Alexander Zverev for a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory in the final.
Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian, is the youngest man to leave Melbourne Park with the trophy two years in a row since Jim Courier in 1992-93, The Associated Press reported.
Sinner rose to No. 1 last June, remaining there for every week since, and the gap between him and No. 2-ranked Zverev was pronounced as can be in Rod Laver Arena. This was the first Australian Open final between the men at No. 1 and No. 2 since 2019, when No. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal — also in straight sets.
Here’s how dominant Sinner has been since the start of last season: He has won three of the five major tournaments, including the US Open in September, and his record in that span is 80-6 with a total of nine tournament titles. His current unbeaten run covers 21 matches, dating to last year.
The only thing that’s clouded the past 12 months for Sinner, it seems, is a doping case in which he was cleared by a ruling that was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He tested positive for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid twice last March but blamed it on an accidental exposure involving two members of his team who have since been fired. Sinner initially was exonerated in August; a hearing in the WADA appeal is scheduled for April.
While Sinner became the eighth man in the Open era (which began in 1968) to start his career 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, Zverev is the seventh to be 0-3, adding this loss to those at the 2020 US Open and the 2024 French Open.
Those earlier setbacks both came in five sets. This contest was not that close. Not at all.
There truly was only one moment that felt as if it contained a hint of tension. It was late in the second set, which Zverev was two points from owning when he led 5-4 and got to love-30 on Sinner’s serve. But a break point — and a set point — never arrived there.
Zverev not got closer, dropping the next four points, making it 5-all. Sinner then emerged with the ensuing tiebreaker. No surprise there: He went 4-0 in those set-deciders over the past two weeks and has grabbed 16 of his past 18.
A year ago, Sinner went through a lot more trouble to earn his first Slam, needing to get past Novak Djokovic — who quit one set into his semifinal against Zverev on Friday because of a torn hamstring — first, before erasing a two-set deficit in the final against 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
Beating Zverev allowed Sinner to become the first man since Nadal at the French Open in 2005 and 2006 to follow up his first Grand Slam title by repeating as the champion at the same tournament a year later.