No Turkish teams will be relegated from the Superlig after a season impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, Turkish Football Federation chairman Nihat Ozdemir said on Wednesday.
Ankaragucu, Kayserispor and Yeni Malatyapor had been set for relegation from the 18-team top tier after finishing in the bottom three places in the league, which was won by Istanbul Basaksehir.
However, Ozdemir said they would remain in the Superlig, which will be played with 21 teams next season, with the addition of three promoted teams. At the end of the 2020-21 season, four teams will be relegated, bringing the number of sides down to 20 the following season.
Relegation was also cancelled for Turkey's lower leagues, Ozdemir told reporters after a meeting of the federation and the sports minister.
Turkey halted its 2019-20 season in March and resumed games in June without spectators as a measure to stem the spread of coronavirus.
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay,; Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Daren Butler and Ed Osmond)
