Turkey: Arda Turan retires from international football

Turkey team captain Arda Turan has announced his retirement from international football following an incident with a journalist. The Barcelona forward allegedly abused and assaulted a journalist on the team's plane. The team were flying to Slovenia following a friendly match in Macedonia. Later on Tuesday the team captain was kicked out of the training camp in Slovenia and a few hours later he held a press conference in which he announced his immediate retirement from international football. "I think the time has come," Turan said during the news conference. "I am ending my career with the national team." Turan was the team captain and has played for his country 96 times. It seems the dispute with that journalist started before the plane took off as Turan approached him to discuss a story he had published on a pay dispute at Euro 2016. Turan called the journalist "shameless" and then grabbed him by the throat and it seems the other players had to restrain him. Turain said he feels no remorse for what he did. "I really love my country. I really love my flag. I have always said if that's what you want, I will retire," he added. "We strongly condemn this assault," the Association of Sports Journalists of Turkey said in a statement. "The fact that this assault was committed by the captain of our national side reinforces its seriousness." Turkey prepare to face Kosovo in a World Cup qualifying match on Sunday. They are currently fourth in their qualification group behind Croatia, Iceland and Ukraine and they are 11/8 at Bet Victor to finish in the top two.