The newspaper quoted presidential sources in Ankara as saying that Erdogan moved to depart for Turkey without taking part in the full funeral ceremony for the late boxer, which was attended by former US President Bill Clinton, Jordan's King Abdullah and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
When participating in funeral prayers for Ali on June 9, Erdogan reportedly tried to a put a piece of cloth from the Kaaba on the boxer's coffin but was refused the opportunity to do so.
Eyewitnesses said that the organizers allegedly offered to put the piece of cloth on the casket themselves later on.
However, another report claimed that Erdogan and Mehmet Gormez, head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, were also forbidden to read a piece from the Quran near the boxer's coffin.
Apparently, this proved to be the last straw, and compelled Erdogan to cut his trip short and return home.
Cumhurbaşkanı Tayyip Erdoğan'ın korumaları ile Gizli Servis ajanları arasında arbedehttps://t.co/yXN4z0x4Edhttps://t.co/Zs2h6ziYqG
— Mynet (@mynet) 10 июня 2016 г.
Meanwhile, the Voice of America's Turkish edition reported that a short quarrel also erupted between US secret service officials and Turkish presidential body guards during Erdogan's visit to the Muhammad Ali Center in Kentucky.
Muhammad Ali died last week at the age of 74 after a protracted fight with Parkinson's disease. He died at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had been treated for respiratory complications related to his illness for the preceding few days.
The embattled Turkish President has, for his part, recently faced international condemnation for his repeated crackdowns on political opponents and journalists, along with his administration's continued practice of buying oil from and funneling armaments to Daesh terrorists.
