Azerbaijani president, first lady watch Qarabag-Galatasaray charity match in Baku PHOTO

A charity match between Aghdam’s Qarabag and Istanbul’s Galatasaray football clubs has been held at Baku Olympic Stadium.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva watched the match at the stadium, Azertac reports.

Forward Bafetimbi Gomis netted an early one for Galatasaray in the 4th minute of the match.

Qarabag’s Redon Xhixha levelled the score in the 19th minute, and the first half ended 1-1.

Galatasaray again put the ball into Qarabag’s net with a penalty kick by Mauro Ikardi in the 87th minute, and the game ended 2-1.

President of Galatasaray football club Dursun Ozbek presented the jersey signed by all the team and other keepsakes to President Ilham Aliyev.

The match aimed to help eliminate the consequences of the "Disaster of the century" - a strong earthquake that struck brotherly Türkiye. All proceeds from the match will be sent to Türkiye to help those impacted by the earthquake. The sale of more than 62,000 tickets for the match in a short period of time is clear evidence of the great interest shown in this match, as well as the unwavering solidarity of the Azerbaijani people with brotherly Türkiye on difficult days.

In a separate report, Azertac said that Mehriban Aliyeva had posted video footage from Qarabag vs Galatasaray match on her official Instagram page.

The post said: “26.03.2023. Türkiye-Azerbaijan brotherhood is eternal and unshakable!”