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Villa give Turkey's Alpay time off
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Aston Villa's Turkey defender Alpay Ozalan, who taunted England captain David Beckham last weekend, has been given time off to be with his family, his club has announced. Alpay has been vilified in the British media, which published a picture of an effigy of him hanging from a lamp post in Birmingham, after his widely-publicized spat with Beckham in Saturday's Euro 2004 qualifier in Istanbul. Villa issued a short statement on their website confirming that manager David O'Leary had given Alpay permission to "spend more time with his family." It added: "As a consequence, he will not figure in preparations for this weekend's trip to Birmingham City." Alpay's future in English football has been called into question by commentators since he taunted Beckham after the England midfielder missed a penalty on Saturday and then stuck a finger in his face as they left the pitch at half-time. Seconds later, there was a tussle in the tunnel between both sets of players with Italian referee Pierluigi Collina ordering Alpay and Beckham to his changing room and telling them to calm themselves and their teams down. Alpay has had an unhappy time in English football and made only five appearances for Villa last season following repeated demands for a transfer. He has tried to play down the events in Istanbul, telling the Villa website on Tuesday that the brawl in the tunnel "was nothing really" and that Collina had made him and Beckham "shake hands and then hug each other." Turkey coach Senol Gunes told CNN Turk television that Alpay's international career could be over after the incidents in Saturday's match. But, in an interview with state-run Anatolian news agency, Turkish team manager Can Cobanoglu expressed support for Alpay and said the English were deliberately distorting Saturday's events. "No country has the right to behave in this way to a foreign footballer who plays in their league," Cobanoglu was quoted as saying. "The hanging of an Alpay (effigy) from a lamp-post and the burning of his shirts will be a monument of shame in England's history." Turkish Football Federation official Selami Ozdemir told the agency he did not approve of some gestures by Alpay during the match. "But what happens on the pitch should stay on the pitch," he said. "Alpay may have done wrong but the incidents should not have been exaggerated this much." Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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