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UEFA: No minute of silence at Euro 2016 for Istanbul airport victims

Reuters

Quarter-finalists at Euro 2016 will not observe a minute's silence for the victims of the suicide attack at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport because UEFA doesn't deem the tragedy relevant to football or the tournament itself.

UEFA told Rob Harris of the Associated Press that it only holds such commemorations when tragedies are "related to football directly, or to one of the participating teams or host country."

However, Turkey participated in the group stage and narrowly missed out on a spot in the knockout stage as one of the four best third-place teams.

Three terrorists opened fire and detonated bombs Tuesday at the third busiest airport in Europe, killing 41 people and wounding hundreds more. The victims included at least 13 foreigners, according to the Associated Press.

It's in direct contrast to the way in which UEFA handled matches following the terrorist attacks in Paris last November. In the days after the atrocity - which left 129 people dead and France in a state of emergency - all teams participating in Euro 2016 qualifiers wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence.

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