Slaven Bilic dedicated West Ham United’s point at Liverpool to the people of Turkey following the twin bomb attack that killed 38 and injured more than 160 outside Besiktas’ stadium on Saturday night.
Bilic was Besiktas coach from 2013 to 2015 and said the violence in Istanbul, suspected of being the work of Kurdish separatists, was “tearing me apart”. The attack killed 31 police officers and seven civilians two hours after fans had left the stadium following a match between Besiktas and Bursaspor.
The West Ham manager said: “Thank you for asking about this because I didn’t know how to divert to this subject from the game. I would like to dedicate this point to the people of Turkey. Me and my staff were there for two years. They followed us big time and my prayers are with them. It is unbelievable what happened there.
“I was all around the world working and on holiday and they are maybe the best people I ever met. It is very sad what is happening in one of the best cities and one of the best countries.
“The people are so warm and friendly and it is tearing me apart. Big condolences to the families of the victims.”
