Upon the return of a closed-doors Bundesliga, the disconnection felt between fans of Turkmen football as their domestic Yokary Liga continues to amplify with every given matchday.
The Turkmen Football Federation isn’t exactly known for elaborate comment at the best of times, however, the news that the return of one of the most high-profile European leagues over the weekend sent their press release department into relative overdrive.
It was announced that state TV broadcast provider “Turkmen Sport” would offer considerable live coverage of the remaining rounds of the German league season. In the same breath, it also went on to confirm the existing arrangement with their own domestic calendar; replaying selected matches in full, but at least a day after the event.
Censored Football
This isn’t something new, in fact, there are indications that such broadcasts have risen throughout this season. The timing though remains a contentious issue; deciding to delay broadcasts by at least 24 hours opens match broadcasts to possible manipulation and censorship.
In North Korea, there is an infamous policy of replaying crucial World Cup qualifiers the week after the actual match, to manage the result publication and any potential disharmony a live offering could present to the public. The Turkmen authorities are keen on moulding the “right” message similarly.
In a domestic sporting landscape, that for the most part is scrupulously controlled, as much of Turkmen society is, the need to have such a tight grip on live broadcasts remains a baffling one - what possible impact could live coverage really cause? Well, this week’s matchday threw up a perfect case in point that further fuels the lack of visibility and disinformation currently plaguing the national league.
Transparency of any sorts on matchday represents a near-total blackout. Aside from an outdated and clumsily put together live scoreboard on the TFF website, numerous outlets from live score apps to sports bookmaker sites have regularly been caught out by false information.
The addition of a football starved betting market, and a social media conspiracy factory represents the sheer difficulty in relying on any certainty until possibly hours after the final whistle has been blown.
When Transparency is Abandoned
Monday’s clash between Sagadam and Nebitci added yet more shade to an already murky situation. Nebitci, already in the eye of the storm, having previously been accused of match manipulation on two separate occasions this season; including a bizarre victory over six-time champions Altyn Asyr that swung markets at the beginning of the month, were set to play another starring role in a typical Turkmen tragedy.
With time ebbing away, in which Sagadam led Nebitci 3-1, the match was, as numerous outlets reported, abandoned deep into the second half. Theories ranging from a mass brawl, player injury, a staged walk-off by Nebitci to heavy rain that resulted in the curtailment of play all circulated online, with little clarification to gleam. Instead of addressing the issue, the TFF predictably wiped all acknowledgement of the match from their records, purposely missing it out on their daily matchday round-up.
A Fascinating Title Race, Behind a Curtain
It comes as no surprise. Whatever the reasoning, such an abandonment would inevitably cause negative headlines back home, something the TFF and the Turkmen government would be keen to deter. Turkmenistan remains one of only a few countries not to have confirmed a single case of COVID-19 to date. Their response which has included a ban on World Health Organisation inspectors entering the country, even denying support for a natural disaster which hit the west of the country last month, all points towards coverup upon coverup to minimise their perceived troubles.
Predictably the Sagadam-Nebitci clash was absent the day after on Turkmen TV schedules. Gleaming any such definitive news will now be hard, nigh on impossible to source. Still, while punters are left aggrieved, the state-sanctioned information burial has tinged what had begun to become an exciting and open title race. Altyn Asyr returned to the top spot on Tuesday with victory over Aşgabat rivals Ahal, who drop to second. Three familiar names were again on the scoresheet for either side; youngster Mikhail Titov opened the scoring (yet again), Elman Tagaev equalised with yet another) penalty for Ahal, before Altymurad Annadurdyev notched his 8th of the season after the break to seel the points for Altyn Asyr.
Elsewhere Kopetdag narrowed the gap at the top to three points with a draw against Aşgabat, while Merv edged out Energetik.
The table in isolation looks well placed for an interesting title race, with all four capital-based clubs in for a shout of pole position, a far cry from previously one-sided silverware hunts.
The Rising Star is Losing Height
As the weeks fly by, from what started as intrigue and had moved to suspicion, is now firmly placed in despair over the league’s lack of transparency. The last week’s events underline a disgraced and slowly illegitimate Yokary Liga campaign.
These should have been the most promising of days for Turkmen football. The national game has grown from strength to strength over the last few years, with the national team competing strongly in World Cup qualification, the domestic game as competitive as ever while being poised to join the AFC Champions League group stages for the first time in their history from next year.
Yet for now, controversy remains the overwhelming talking point.
