In a speech to delegates at the opening of the UEFA Congress, Erdoğan said: "I would like to repeat the request to host the European Championship in Istanbul in 2020." UEFA President Platini responded to Erdoğan's announcement by stating, "Turkey had a strong bid in 2016 and I think they will be even stronger in 2020. Now the only small issue I have in respect to this is that in 2020 Istanbul is also a candidate for the Olympics so if they have the Olympics and the Euros it's maybe a bit of a handful," Platini told reporters after UEFA's congress.
"If Istanbul does not get the Olympic Games the Turkish bid will be a stronger bid and one that I will support and one that I will vote for. Last time (for 2016) I did not vote, but this time I will vote for Istanbul, because I believe Turkey should host the Euros."
IMPOSSIBLE TASK
"Honestly, if Istanbul already has the Olympics before then I won't vote for Turkey because it is impossible to have the Olympic Games and the Euros in the same month in the same city. That's my position," Platini said.
PRAISE FOR TFF'S MATCH-FIXING RULING
When reminded that individuals from other teams besides Fenerbahçe are also being charged with match-fixing, Platini stated, "If they didn't do anything wrong, then they have no reason to be concerned. We are not saying anything in regards to Turkish football in general. We greatly respect Turkish football. They have great teams, players and fans. We are not taking any action against Turkish football. We simply did not allow one Turkish team to compete in the Champions League. Instead, we accepted the team that came in second."
THE PRIME MINISTER IS RIGHT, BUT…
UEFA President Michel Platini expressed that he believes Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's view that individuals, rather than clubs, should face punishment for match-fixing, however the system has been like this for years, he said. "It has been like this for decades. The disciplinary committee is an independent committee. I feel the same way. If a club chairman commits an infraction then the team should not be punished it. Prime Minister Erdoğan is right; however the system has been like this for years. The club pays the price."
Intercity’s manger, Vural Ak, who is on the Beşiktaş sports club’s presidency candidate Serdal Adalı’s managerial list, announced the club’s financials. Ak, who manages Istanbul Racetrack said, “We will invest 45 million dollars and enter the 2014 Formula calendar.”
Fenerbahçe lifted up their second Turkey Cup trophy in a row last night beating out Trabzonspor by 1-0 in the Ziraat Turkey Cup final held in Ankara. 
Sports Minister Kılıç brought two star players from arch-rival teams together to discuss the recent surfacing of racial gestures by fans in the Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray derby, the foreign player quota and Turkey’s 2020 Olympic bid. 
English former captain, and footballing legend David Beckham takes his last bow on the footballing stage.
Yesterday the "Derby of Two Continents" was played in Istanbul.
Galatasaray clinched their 19th Turkish league title with a 4-2 win over Sivasspor on Sunday, crowning a successful season in which they reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and claimed the Super League title two weeks early.
In an exciting, tight and highly energized game, hosts Benfica managed to outscore Fenerbahçe by 3-1 last night and will now be moving on to face Chelsea in the UEFA Europa League final in Amsterdam on May 15.
Tokyo's outspoken governor, Naoki Inose, who heads the city's bid for the 2020 Olympics, apologized on Tuesday for "inappropriate" comments he made about rival candidate Istanbul and Islamic countries. Admitting that he used expressions that may have been misunderstood, Inose said he would never criticize other candidate cities again. 
Egemen Korkmaz's second-half header earned Fenerbahçe a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Benfica and eased the tears of team mate Cristian on Thursday.
