Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can made a tribute to the victims of the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria after scoring from the halfway line.
The number of fatalities following a devastating earthquake across southern and central Turkiye and western Syria continues to grow, with over 15,000 reported so far.
It is a tragic situation that has and will affect millions, with almost 300,000 people considered displaced at this stage.
Wednesday night saw ex-Liverpool midfielder Can, who was born in Germany but has Turkish ancestry, pay his respects to those impacted by the disaster.
INCREDIBLE! ?
Emre Can scores from just shy of the halfway line with a volley to help Dortmund to the lead ??? pic.twitter.com/gqybTJXaHa
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) February 8, 2023
The 29-year-old did so after scoring from the halfway line as Dortmund overcame VfL Bochum with a 2-1 victory in the DFB-Pokal round of 16, his effort bundling into the back of the net.
With goalkeeper Manuel Riemann racing out of his goal to clear a loose ball, Can touched it down and poked it 60 yards across the pitch and in, opening the scoring before Jude Bellingham set up Marco Reus’ winner.
Wheeling away in celebration to be mobbed by his team-mates, Can then broke off and kissed the black armband he was wearing to mark those impacted in Turkiye and Syria.
It was not the most attractive of halfway-line goals, but it was certainly a significant one both on and off the pitch.
“It was a special game for me,” he told reporters after the game.
“My thoughts are with the people in Turkiye and Syria, in the countries affected by the earthquake.
“There are things that are more important than football.
“What happened shows that football is not the most important thing in life.”
Can recently revealed that he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer during medical checks upon joining Juventus from Liverpool in 2018, with surgery treating a disease he admitted “changed a lot.”
“You can have a lot of money, you can have everything,” he reflected, “but health is the most important thing.”
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