A Belgian tourist in Iceland has been sent death threats and had his social media accounts hacked after a stunt involving the Turkish national football team.
The Turkish team was in an airport in Keflavik, Iceland, this past weekend before a match on Tuesday against Iceland when it was held up for hours as each piece of luggage was searched, according to Het Nieuwsblad. The delay itself caused an uproar among Turkish fans and even some politicians.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
When journalists gathered to interview the team after the delay, a young Belgian man joined the fray and pretended to interview Turkish captain Emre Belozoglu with a washing-up brush, causing even more outrage. Turkish officials are now accusing Iceland of disrespect because of both the delay at the airport and the incident with the washing-up brush.
The man, identified as Corentin Siamang, had his Facebook account hacked by Turkish fans and was sent death threats for his actions. A parody Twitter account has even been made of him with a brush edited into the profile photo, though the account has few followers.
The hashtag #TurksAreComingForIceland trended in both Iceland and Turkey as Turkish fans expressed their displeasure.
Siamang posted a statement on his Facebook page shortly before it was taken over.
“I just meant it as a joke and I certainly didn't want to offend anyone," Siamang said. "It's humour. It was a simple, clean dishwashing brush. There is no law that forbids me from approaching someone with a washing-up brush."
Sam Nelson
The Brussels Times
