Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will not attend the funeral service of boxing legend Mohammad Ali, scheduled to take place in Louisville, Friday, after the boxer’s relatives declined his request to deliver a speech during the ceremony.

The ‘Sultan’ of Bosporus clearly annoyed by the snub decided to not attend the interfaith ceremony. According to Turkish newspaper ‘Hurriyet’, Erdogan attended the Islamic prayer session in honour of Ali, but departed hurriedly for Turkey. According to sources, Erdogan was offended by the fact that he was not allowed to place a black cloth on the casket of Mohammad Ali adorned with verses from the Quran and his request to read a passage from the Muslim holy book was turned down.