Turkish water polo team humiliated on social media over Greece defeat

BARCELONA

Daniel Angyal of Hungary, right, battles for the ball against Andria Bitadze of Georgia, during a men's first round Group A match at the European Water Polo Championship in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, July 16, 2018. Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP

Turkey lost 27:1 against Greece in the first match of the 2018 Men’s European Water Polo Championship in Barcelona on July 16, prompting a social media storm created by angry and sarcastic Turkish fans. 

“Do they really know how to swim?” one Turkish social media user asked in a comment to a news story about the defeat on Twitter.

The match was an easy one for the Greek team from the start, as Ethniki Omada struck five markers in the first period and Turks were already 11 goals behind at half time.

“Perhaps there was a strong current toward our goal, so, our players struggled to swim,” another Twitter user joked.

Turkey and Greece are placed in Group C with the Netherlands and Croatia. The group winner qualifies directly for the quarter-final stage, while the teams in second and third positions compete in the playoffs.

While one Twitter user sarcastically questioned whether the Turkish team had trained in the arid Central Anatolian province of Konya, another one suggested the officials to “just shut down” Turkey’s water polo federation.

There were also some upbeat comments, like one Twitter user who noted that “at least we scored the goal of honor” and another one vowing to qualify by winning the rest of the matches.

The championship continues until July 28.