ISTANBUL Galatasaray's opening champions league match against Hertha Berlin will go ahead in Istanbul on Wednesday despite aftershocks that have shaken the region, a club spokesman said on Tuesday. "Out of the question," a Galatasary official said when asked if the match could be moved or postponed. Hertha Berlin President Walter Mueller was earlier quoted as saying his team might not play because of the risk of tremors like one measuring 5.8 on the richter scale near Istanbul on Monday that killed at least six people and toppled buildings.

But in Istanbul, Hertha Berlin Spokesman Hans Georefelder said the team were ready to play. "At first we were shocked but now we are all calm. We are waiting for the Galatasaray match and want to play," Anatolian news agency quoted him as saying. Galatasaray's Brazilian defender Carlos Oliviera was unharmed after jumping from a first floor window into his garden as the tremor hit, newspapers reported.

(Reuter)