Deniz’s Homeland Appeal
Friday, 17th Feb 2023DM:- “I wanted to try and raise awareness and funds for the people out there that have been affected by it.
Football fans worldwide have been deeply saddened by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, which have killed thousands of people. At Dunfermline Athletic one player has been closer to the disaster than others. Goalkeeper Deniz Mehmet is of Turkish Cypriot descent and represented Turkey up to under 19 level. Mehmet then spent four years as a reserve goalkeeper at Kayserispor in Central Turkey before returning to Britain but primarily Scotland.
Watching from 3000 miles away Deniz felt the urge to try and help those affected by the disaster. He told the media:-
“I wanted to try and raise awareness and funds for the people out there that have been affected by it. I have family in Turkey and in Northern Cyprus but luckily they`re to the western side of the country.”
Former Newcastle footballer Christian Atsu remains missing in Hatay, Turkey. The 31 year old plays for Süper Lig club Hatayspor in Hatay and Deniz has a friend, Kamil Ahmet Çörekçi, who also plays for Hatayspor:-
"I remember the first day you hear of what`s going on - the minute I saw `earthquake in Hatay` and all the cities surrounding it, I tried to get in contact and couldn`t get a hold of him at first. So it hits home and makes you a bit uneasy. You`re thinking the worst all of a sudden and get in contact with other friends out there to ask `have you heard from him ... have you heard from him ... what`s going on?`. It`s a relief to know when you hear and know he`s fine, he`s just getting things sorted out but it’s not nice.
“I had a couple of chats with him and he said it`s been traumatised by everything that`s been going on over there. What`s going on is really horrible for all the families that have been affected. I want to try and help out as much as possible.
"It`s a bit surreal at times, but it`s nice to see the support that I`m seeing on social media and the awareness that`s been risen about it. Everyone is doing their part, I believe. The club is doing it through the DEC (Disaster Emergency Committee) as well which has raised £74 million at the moment and £5m has been sent from the UK Government - which is amazing and it`s going to go a long way."
Deniz was born in Enfield, London, on 19 September 1992 and progressed through the West Ham United Academy. The keeper signed for Dunfermline from Dundee United in June 2021 and now with 39 appearances he has made more appearances for the Pars than anyone else. Deniz appreciates the support from the club for the appeal:-
"Having that link with my Turkish background it`s a lovely feeling to know that the club are behind me and willing to help as much as they can. Any donation possible goes towards families.
“I was reading up on it, 17 million families have been affected by it. Small amounts such as £10 can get blankets for two people, £25 can feed their family for 10 days and £50 can give shelter to two families. It`s not a great deal of money, but it can give so much over there in the circumstances they have out there right now. It`s really nice to know that at Dunfermline Athletic, I`ve got the backing of them to help out as much as I can. It`s definitely a nice feeling inside of me."
Now the main thing is the appeal and Deniz will wear a special shirt with the Turkish flag on it in the League One match against Airdrieonians on Saturday to highlight that. Also, as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives, or are affected by these tragic events, Dunfermline Athletic players and will wear black armbands at that match.
Airdrieonians are the opposition for the second week running and Deniz praised his side for their comeback to win the match 4-3 at the Excelsior Stadium:-
"It was quite a surreal game really, the way we`ve come back from being 3-0 down and coming back and winning the game in the manner that we did. Credit to the boys, the belief was there to get back into the game and to pull it back the way they did.
"I have definitely never been involved in a game like that! I`ve had my fair share of dramatic games, but never to the magnitude of being 3-0 down with half an hour to go and coming back and, let alone pulling it back to 3-3, actually winning it as well. It was quite a special feeling after the game.”
Deniz has started 31 matches this season and achieved 16 shuts out though last Saturday was not going to be one of them. He felt that the team let themselves down badly with their first half performance that did not resemble those seen from the start of the season:-
“It`s one of those things, you`re going to have good days, you`re going to have bad days but the belief was always there from the boys to pull it back and to turn it around the way that they did. All credit to them but hopefully on Saturday we can get going from kick-off and perform the way that we know that we can, and that we should."
To deliver humanitarian aid directly to those in need, fans can also donate to the DEC’s Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal. Click HERE for more information or to donate
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