Turkish basketball team fields five players abroad over visa rejections

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Turkey’s Bursa Uludağ Basketball team on Dec. 11 traveled to the The International Basketball Federation Women's European Cup rematch scheduled to be played in England with merely five players due to visa problems.

The team had previously was defeated 77-53 in the first match and was defeated 122-63 in the rematch as well. 

As the technical staff and other players could not get visas, there were no substitutes and the players had to play 40 minutes each.

The club stated that the visa application of the athletes was made quickly on Dec. 3 after the match was announced and added, "An invitation letter was issued to us regarding the competition by London Lions Basketball Club. With this invitation letter, we made our visa application both through the website and the British Embassy."

The club stated that it contacted the officials of the Turkish Basketball Federation and the British Embassy to speed up the process and added, “Although all procedures have been carried out by us within the proper time limit, the federation and the embassy of the said country notified us that they will not help us and caused today's victimization.”

The team stated that only five players who already had visa exemptions could be sent to the match.