OL return to Istanbul 10 years after coup attempt left squad stranded | OneFootball

OL visit Fenerbahçe on Tuesday for a pivotal Champions League play-off first leg at 21:00, returning to a city where, 10 years earlier, their squad were confined to their hotel amid an attempted coup.

According to L'Équipe, Lyon's team coach edged towards Istanbul airport while the country was still unsure whether it had just tipped into upheaval. On the morning of 16 July 2016, nobody on board knew if the flight would depart.

Maxime Gonalons, then captain under Bruno Genesio, said the journey to the airport was the most striking, with an escort and the coach weaving between cars, and uncertainty over whether they could leave.

Before reaching the terminal, he recalled tanks lined the roadside for kilometres, a stark sight on the route out of the city.

Inside the airport, many people were trying to find flights to get away.

Source: L'Équipe

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