Umut Bulut

Turkish football player Umut Bulut has broken all-time record for Turkish Süper Lig appearance with 504 matches.

Bulut took the pitch in the starting 11 when his club Yeni Malatyaspor hosted Ittifak Holding Konyaspor on Feb. 20.

Yeni Malatyaspor said on Twitter that the club from Turkey's east awarded the veteran striker with a plate to honor him before the Konyaspor match.

Galatasaray advanced to the Ziraat Turkish Cup quarterfinals late on Jan. 12, eliminating Yeni Malatyaspor 7-6 on penalties.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the 90th minute at Yeni Malatya Stadium and the match went into extra time.

Alanyaspor beat Beşiktaş 2-1 at home on Dec. 13 to stay atop the Turkish Süper Lig standings.

Anastasios Bakasetas successfully converted a penalty shot in the 26th minute to give a 1-0 lead to the home side.

The Greek international doubled the score in the 79th minute to make things easier for the league leader.

Turkish Süper Lig giants Beşiktaş defeated Ankaragücü 2-1 at the Vodafone Park in Istanbul in the opening match of Week 25 on March 6.

Turkish international striker Burak Yılmaz gave an early lead to his team after he scored a penalty for Black Eagles in the 6th minute of the match.

Kayserispor, which is fighting against relegation, dealt a major blow to Fenerbahçe's dreams of winning the Spor Toto Super League title on Jan. 29 when it destroyed the Istanbul club 4-1 at home.

Turkish international striker Umut Bulut put the home side ahead in the 32nd minute at the Kadir Has Stadium, while Fenebrhaçe leveled the game in the 41st through Mehmet Topal.

After the bodies of 35 victims of the March 13 suicide car bomb attack in the capital city of Ankara were delivered to their families by the authorities, funeral ceremonies were held all across the country on March 15, as Turkey continued to be gripped by a growing sense of distress and unease following a series of deadly attacks in recent months. 

Galatasaray's German forward, Lukas Podolski, is considering leaving Turkey following March 13's terrorist attack in Ankara, which left at least 37 dead.

Podolski, who moved to the Istanbul-based club from Arsenal on a three-year contract last summer, told German daily Bild that he is now considering leaving Turkey given the political situation in the country.

Among the at least 37 victims of the Ankara attack was Kemal Bulut, the father of Galatasaray's Turkish international striker Umut Bulut. 

Umut was himself in Ankara on March 13 for his team's away game against Ankara's Gençlerbirli?i and his father was killed while returning home from the stadium, where he had gone to watch his son play. 

Trabzonspor player Salih Dursun was sent off after showing the referee the red card during an argument over a penalty decision on Feb. 21 in a Spor Toto Super League game against Galatasaray.

Dursun seized his opportunity after teammate Luis Cavanda had been dismissed in the final minute of the game for bringing down striker Umut Bulut inside the penalty box. 

Galatasaray, which enjoyed winning the Turkish Super Cup on Aug. 8, will play a friendly match against Real Madrid on Aug. 18, according to a statement from the Turkish club.

"As part of the 36th edition of the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy, Real Madrid and Galatasaray will play at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 18," the statement said.