Turkey football fans donated thousands of teddy bears before a Super Lig match between Besiktas and Fraport TAV Antalyaspor on Sunday.
The teddy bears were thrown on the football pitch during the match as donation for the children who survived the devastating earthquakes in Turkey.
The match was stopped at four minutes and 17 seconds to correspond with the time the earthquake struck southeastern Turkey – 4:17 a.m. local time on February 6.
That is when the fans showered the pitch with thousands of stuffed toys at the Vodafone Park stadium.
Players rushed to collect the toys while the scoreboard screen flashed with the license plate numbers of the eleven Turkish provinces impacted by the earthquake.
Besiktas to donate toys to children
The toys will be sent by Besiktas to children impacted by the earthquake, which has killed more than 50,000 people across Turkey and Syria.
A section of the Besiktas fans also chanted “government resign” in protest against the official response to the disaster, viewed by many in Turkey as being slow and insufficient.
"Our fans threw scarves, berets and plush toys on the ground of Vodafone Park to be given as a gift to the children in the earthquake region to cheer them up," Besiktas said in a club statement. "We would like to thank our fans for their meaningful event."
Ghana winger Christian Atsu was among the victims. He was found dead on 18 February under the building where he lived in southern Turkey.
