Captain can’t save team from losing in Turkish football final but saves seagull on pitch
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Turkish footballer Gani Catan performing chest compressions on a seagull struck by the ball during a match.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM OZSOYTV/YOUTUBE
A bit of fowl play involving a seagull on a football pitch in Turkey led to a championship lost, but a life saved.
The incident happened during an amateur match in the seventh tier of Turkish football on Feb 22 between Istanbul Yurdum Spor and Mevlanakapi Guzelhisar, with a title at stake for the winner.
A seagull was cruising at an altitude that proved too low for its safety when it was struck by a ball cleared by Istanbul’s goalkeeper in the 22nd minute of the match. It fell, webbed feet up, in the middle of the field.
Slow-motion replays showed the bird swivelling in the air a few times after it was struck.
Istanbul captain Gani Catan was the first to react and, in videos of the moment that have gone viral, can be seen performing chest compressions on the motionless bird.
In a fashion not dissimilar to when human players get injured, the referee also stopped the game and called for medical personnel to treat the seagull.
But neither further assistance nor mouth-to-beak resuscitation was required.
After less than a minute, Catan handed the bird to a team official for further care, having identified that it was moving its legs and eyes again.
He later told Turkish media that giving the bird cardiopulmonary resuscitation was a “reflex” reaction, having never received first aid or animal health training.
The seagull was reported to be back on its feet, but suffered wing damage and will not be flying soon.
After play resumed, the game ended with Istanbul losing 4-2 on penalties in the final of the 1st Amateur League
“We missed out on the championship, but it’s a wonderful thing to have helped save a life,” Catan told state news Anadolu Agency. “This was more important than the championship.”
While rare and unexpected, there have been other sporting occasions involving seagulls.
In a 2025 Australian cricket game, Englishman James Vince killed a bird after a ball he hit struck a seagull by the side of the field.
Another seagull survived a football hit at a lower pace during a 2018 A-league match between Wellington and Melbourne City.
