Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu on Monday said that the Çetinkaya Sports Club was once again allowed to use the Taksim football pitch following long consultations with the United Nations (UN).

Referring to the good will demonstrated by the UN Chief of Mission Colin Stewart on the issue, Ertuğruloğlu said that there were still a few glitches in the agreement reached which was causing delays in the process to revive the pitch.

Evaluating the latest move to revive the historic football field located beneath the old walls of Lefkoşa, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu reminded that the pitch was indeed the property of the Çetinkaya Sports Club.

He said that the process to reconvert the field which was until recently used for events organised by the North Cyprus Automobile Touring Association into a football pitch was no easy task.

“The UN and especially the head of the UN Mission Mr Colin Stewart carried out talks with us and the Office of the President in good will. In the end an agreement was reached and work has begun as of today,” the foreign minister said.

Ertuğruloğlu however said that delays had been experienced in the process due to a few minor objections raised by the UN.

“We are currently facing a disagreement with the fence or net we want to erect behind the goal post on the southern end of the pitch. We want this fence or net to be high so as to prevent balls from flying over to the other side. We believe the fence needs to be at least 6m high. Unfortunately we have yet to reach an agreement on the matter,” he stressed.