Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced that 5 referees and 1 observer lost their lives in the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, which is called the “disaster of the century”.
In the statement made by the federation, it was stated that referees Furkan Kürşad Demir, Hasan Bihan, assistant referee Eyyup Saydam, candidate referees Cevher Çakmak and Ceren Çakmak brothers and observer Cevdet Karakurt passed away in the earthquake and expressed their condolences.
The statement included the following:
It is with deep sadness that we learned that some of our referees and observers, who served in various classifications, lost their lives in the earthquake disaster that shocked our country. Furkan Kürşad Demir, a provincial referee in Kahramanmaraş, Cevdet Karakurt, a provincial observer in Gaziantep, our candidate referees Cevher Çakmak and Ceren Çakmak brothers in Hatay, Hasan Bihan, a provincial referee in Hatay, and regional assistant referee. Unfortunately, we lost Eyyup Saydam. May God have mercy on our deceased referees and observers; We express our condolences to his grieving families, relatives and our entire football community. On this occasion, once again, we wish God’s mercy on all our citizens lost in the earthquake, and a speedy recovery to our wounded. Condolences to our beloved nation.