Turkey PM excited by Russia Europa clash despite crisis

Fenerbahce were earlier drawn against Lokomotiv in Europe's second tier football club competition, with Moscow and Ankara experiencing their worst crisis since the Cold War after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border on November 24.

But Davutoglu said he hoped that despite all the problems the match would be played in a good spirit.

"The Turks and Russians who will fill the stadiums here and in Russia are not adversaries, and still less enemies," he told A-Haber TV in an interview.

"If the match is played in a gentlemanly spirit and helps reduce the tensions between the countries, then something positive will come from a draw that could seem negative," he added.

There have been concerns over the behaviour of Turkish and Russian fans on repeated occasions in the past years.

Some Turkish fans in November provoked outrage by shouting "God is great" and booing the opposing Greek team during a minute's silence for the victims of Paris attacks.

"We are going there for the sport," said Fenerbahce's secretary general Mahmut Uslu, quoted by the state-run Anatolia news agency. "We hope that the disputes will be over by then."

With "Lokomotiv Moskova" a trending topic in Turkey, not all Fenerbahce fans were so sanguine.

"We already hit them in the air and now on the turf -- wait for us, Lokomotiv Moscow," said one user @Beyazboy.

Fenerbahce are scheduled to host Lokomotiv for the first leg on February 16 and then travel to Moscow for the return leg on February 25.