UK ambassador joins Beşiktaş celebrations with flag at Ankara residence
ANKARA
U.K. Ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore joined in the celebrations for Beşiktaş’s Super League triumph by flying the flag of Istanbul club at his embassy residence in Ankara.Moore has said he is a big fan of the Black Eagles and on May 15 was at the club’s new stadium in Istanbul to watch Beşiktaş claim its first Turkish league title in seven years and its 14th ever with a 3-1 win over Osmanlıspor.
During the match, Moore retweeted messages posted on Beşiktaş’s official Twitter account. Upon his return to Ankara on the morning of May 16, Moore flew the Beşiktaş flag at his official residence and posed for a photo with the flag.
“#Besiktas supporter .@UKAmbRichard serves in Turkey 1990, 91, 92, 2014, 15 and 16. @Besiktas wins championship 1990, 91, 92, 2016! 4 out of 6… Just saying!” Moore then wrote on his official Twitter account.
Before the match, Moore posted a “selfie” with former Turkish Parliament Speaker Hikmet Çetin, with a note saying in Turkish, “Selfie with a quite famous Beşiktaş supporter.”
In the first half of April, Moore had attended the opening of the Vodafone Arena, Beşiktaş’s new home ground.
“Thrilled to be attending the opening of .@Besiktas .@VodafoneArena and immensely proud that it carries the name of UK company .@VodafoneUK. Hoping to meet Gordon Milne, the man who made me a .@Besiktas supporter! Now let’s win the championship,” Moore said at the time on his Twitter account, referring to the British football man who coached Beşiktaş in the late eighties and early nineties.
Speaking to Hürriyet after the opening, Moore said he was asked which team he supported when he came to Turkey in 1990.
“Gordon Milne was coach of Beşiktaş between 1987 and 1994. I admired him, so from that day to this one I’ve been big fan of Beşiktaş,” Moore was quoted on April 17.
Milne is one of the most successful foreign managers ever to work in Turkey, winning three consecutive league titles for Beşiktaş from 1988 to 1991.
Meanwhile, British Consul General in Istanbul Leigh Turner also shared a picture of the consulate building, on which a huge Beşiktaş flag was draped.“I congratulate Beşiktaş for this fantastic victory,” Turner tweeted.
