President Erdoğan witness as Turkish footballer Arda Turan ties the knot

ISTANBUL

Turkish star midfielder Arda Turan on March 11 married his long term girlfriend Aslıhan Doğan in Istanbul, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan acting as his marriage witness.

The small scale marriage ceremony took place in the Çubuklu district of Istanbul and was also attended by First Lady Emine Erdoğan, Turan’s teammate Emre Belözoğlu and other high profile guests.

Turan made headlines in Turkish media earlier this month by saying it would not be appropriate to have a full scale wedding as Turkey was “at war,” referring to the “Operation Olive Branch” in Syria.

Turan has strongly supported the operation and made a military salute to the soldiers after scoring a goal.

Turan, 31, joined the fast-rising Turkish side Başakşehir in January on a two-and-a-half-year loan deal from Barcelona.

He joined Barcelona in 2015 after four successful seasons with Atletico Madrid but was unable to hold down a first-team place.

Başakşehir have risen rapidly over the last two seasons to rival the established Istanbul triumvirate of Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray.

Formerly known as Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Spor (IBB), the club became a company and changed its name in 2014 to Başakşehir.

Başakşehir is in third place in the Turkish league and remains in contention for the title despite a 4-1 away drubbing at the hands of Alanyaspor on March 9.