Russian Volleyball Teams Cancel Games İn Turkey

Two Russian volleyball sides have canceled matches in Turkey, sports officials said Monday.



The announcements came in the wake of the shooting down of a Russian jet by Turkish fighter planes over southern Turkey.



Belogorie Belgorod and Dinamo Moscow canceled fixtures in the men's Champions League against Arkas Spor Izmir and Ziraat Bankasi Ankara respectively, according to European and Turkish authorities.



"In their statement, the CEV [European Volleyball Confederation] told our federation that the two clubs' Russian opponents will not play in Turkey," Turkish Volleyball Federation President Ozkan Mutlugil said. "The procedure says the Turkish teams should win by the decision of the referee by 3-0."



The matches had been due to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday.



On their website, Belogorie said they had applied to play their match on Jan. 13.



Turkey's Halkbank Ankara traveled to Russia on Monday for a game in the same league against Zenit Kazan on Wednesday.



The downing of a SU-24 bomber on Nov. 24 has led to Russia announcing sanctions against Turkey and calling for tourists to boycott Turkish resorts. - Ankara