Turkey, Greece play to goalless draw in Athens
In what would have been a nice display of cross-Aegean friendship, had it not cost the European soccer champions a badly-needed home victory, Greece and Turkey drew 0-0 in Athens yesterday in a 2006 World Cup qualifier. Fears Greek fans would display the nationalist aggression that erupted on Saturday night after the national squad lost 2-1 to Albania in Tirana – when scores of jubilating Albanian immigrants were injured in clashes with local hotheads – were dispelled. The 33,000-strong crowd in the Karaiskaki stadium cheered the home team without booing the Turkish national anthem or pelting the other team with coins or worse. Greece missed several good opportunities, while Turkey fell back in the second half to secure a draw point. Greece next plays Ukraine on October 9.
