Turkish footballer dies in horror auto-crash
A Turkish international footballer, Ahmet Yilmaz Calik, has died in a horror car crash aged 27.
He was driving the vehicle on the motorway when he lost control and crashed at around 9am local time on Tuesday morning.
It is understood the car overturned as it came off the carriageway.
Emergency services rushed to the accident but Calik was declared dead at the scene in heartbreaking circumstances.
The defender earned eight senior caps for Turkey between 2015 and 2017 after progressing through the youth teams – although he did not appear at Euro 2016 despite being named in the squad.
He was playing his club football with Konyaspor until his tragic passing, joining the Super Lig outfit in 2020 from Galatasaray.
Konyaspor tweeted a message of support for their popular centre-back: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our football player Ahmet Calik, who has won the love of our fans and our city since the first day he came to our Konyaspor.
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Turkey’s youth and sports minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu said: “I have learned with deep regret that our national football player Ahmet Calik, who plays for Konyaspor, passed away in a traffic accident on the Ankara – Nigde highway.
“May God have mercy on the late Ahmet Calik, who also served in our national team.
“My condolences to his family, Konyaspor and the entire football community.”
Galatasaray and the Turkish national team as well as Calik’s first club Genclerbirligi also shared posts paying tribute.
Calik joined the academy at Genclerbirligi aged 11 in 2005 and turned professional with his boyhood club in 2011.
He went on to make 109 league appearances for them across six years before his three years at Galatasaray and signed a contract extension with Konyaspor in November.