The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated that the attitude of UEFA, which decided following the recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul that the Galatasaray-Juventus soccer match should not take place in this city, encouraged terrorism. The Assembly decided that what UEFA did was an uncooperative move in the combat against terrorism.

Murat Mercan, the head of the Turkish delegation in the Assembly, prepared a report called “Combating Terror,” which included the statements that UEFA failed in struggling terrorism with its decision about Juventus-Galatasaray match, which should have taken place in Istanbul. The report, which was adopted by the Assembly with unanimity, further stated that the fact that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was sheltered by some European countries in the past was a “solidarity weakness.”