´They made my mother cry´ – Arda sends message to Turkey critics

Turkey captain Arda Turan has vowed to hold his critics to account after claiming that they moved his mother to tears.

Fatih Terim’s side responded to back-to-back defeats by beating the Czech Republic 2-0 in Lens to give themselves a chance of reaching the knockout stage of Euro 2016.

Arda had been booed by a number of Turkey fans for his performance in the 3-0 loss to Spain, while rumours of a dispute with the Turkish Football Federation over tournament bonuses served to heighten the scrutiny on his form.

And the 29-year-old, who produced a strong display in Tuesday’s win, admits that the criticism affected both him and his family.

“I tried to not cry,” he told Lig TV. “But they made my mother cry. But don’t worry, I’ll hold them to account.”

Goals from Burak Yilmaz and Ozan Tufan gave Turkey a win which means they can still progress to the last 16 as one of the top third-placed teams in the group stage.

Arda praised his team-mates for their improved work-rate in a performance which went some way towards making an amends for poor displays against the top two in the group.

“Obviously our defeats against Croatia and Spain were not surprising,” he said. “I accept that we weren’t good enough those matches.

“Today we fought on the pitch for our country and our honour. I think today we deserved the enthusiasm.”