Yesterday’s Turkish Super League 30th round clash between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe in the Turkish city on the Black Sea, coast turned into a pitch battle between home fans and players of the Istanbul team that has made headlines in Turkish and international media.
After Trabzonspor came from two goals down in the second half, Fenerbahçe secured a 2-3 victory thanks to a goal by Batshuayi just three minutes before the end. Already after Fener’s first goal, an object thrown from the stands hit the team’s coach, İsmail Kartal, who had to be treated for the blow, and throughout the match there were repeated throws of objects and water bottles from Trabzonspor fans, forcing referee Halil Umut Meler to temporarily suspend the game on several occasions until the crowd calmed down.
But it was precisely after the end of the match, and while the Yellow Canaries were trying to celebrate their victory in the middle of the pitch, that the incidents that have been reported by all the media broke out: at that moment, a large number of Trabzonspor fans jumped onto the pitch, and despite attempts to stop them, several of them went so far as to attack the Fenerbahçe players and coaching staff, who in turn also responded with kicks and punches. The Fener players were eventually allowed to leave the pitch, but only after the intervention of dozens of security personnel.
İsmail Kartal: “The match should have been cancelled”.
Fenerbahçe coach İsmail Kartal regretted that the referee had not acted more firmly after the first incidents involving the home fans. “The match should have been cancelled. Despite all that happened, the referees did not call it off. I wish none of this had happened,” he said after the match.
Trabzonspor coach Abdullah Avcı, meanwhile, also lamented the incidents and the crisis in Turkish football due to aggressions and violence against referees. In fact, referee Halil Umut Meler is no stranger to this situation, as he himself suffered a savage assault after a match at the hands of the Ankaragücü president, who was suspended for life.
Reactions from the Turkish Football Federation and FIFA
In the wake of these unfortunate events, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) issued a statement of condemnation, and promised to apply harsh sanctions against those involved once the investigation is completed. Also Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikya, has himself taken action and announced the arrest of at least a dozen individuals, including not only those who invaded the pitch but also those who threw objects at the Fenerbahçe coach and players.
Outside Turkey, FIFA also reacted to the incidents at the Trabzonspor-Fenerbahce match on Monday, with its president Gianni Infantino issuing a statement strongly condemning the violence after the game as “absolutely unacceptable“. “There is no place for such behaviour, both on and off the pitch, either in our sport or in our society,” the FIFA president said.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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