March 19 – Turkey’s Fenerbahçe have called an emergency meeting to vote on whether the club should withdraw from the Turkish Super Lig after the unprecedented scenes following the match with Trabzonspor on Sunday, when Trabzonspor fans attacked Fenerbahce players.
Fenerbahçe met immediately following the game, and agreed to call an Extraordinary General Assembly which will be held April 2. The single agenda item will to decide whether the club will withdraw from Turkey’s elite football division or not.
In a wide-ranging statement, Fenerbahçe president Ali Y. Koç (pictured) announced that he has resigned from the Clubs Union Foundation of Turkey and is ready to send the club to the country’s amateur divisions in an attempt to solve the problems of Turkish football.
“We are going to an Extraordinary General Assembly. As Fenerbahce, we have to draw our own fate, our own future. We are going to the General Assembly on April 2. The call was just made. We are going to an Extraordinary General Assembly and hopefully, with God’s permission, we need to do what we need to do. We need to cut our own ties because this will continue like this. We would like to thank our President and Ministers for his intervention after the events took place yesterday. God bless them, they intervened in every process after the events and made us feel comfortable,” said Koc.
“However, they should not have intervened and the local authorities should have provided the necessary environment. By taking the necessary security measures, putting the police there and conducting a body search. Therefore, yesterday’s events need to be viewed differently from a bigger window. These are not events that will happen in any Fenerbahçe Trabzon match. Even after the league conflict between 1995 and 1996, when tensions reached their peak, there had never been such violence and hatred,” Koc continued.
“We will not accept this treatment in our own country. We have said many times that we do not. Again and again, we shout out what is happening in Turkish football; We shout loudly about betting, match-fixing, unfair competition and referees. You see the point where things have come. We will now cut our ties ourselves. If necessary, we will be relegated to a lower league. When you make this decision, relegation to a lower league is already in question. Because we will die one day rather than die every day, but we have to save our future. We’ll play for a year and leave, but everyone will come to their senses and that’s enough. That’s literally enough.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has also called for immediate action after Trabzonspor fans attacked players.
Fenerbahce were celebrating their 3-2 victory in Trabzon when supporters invaded the pitch – forcing the players to defend themselves.
Twelve people were detained by police after fans threw objects and attempted to kick and punch the players following the final whistle.
“The violence witnessed after the Turkish Super Lig match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce is absolutely unacceptable – on or off the field, it has no place in our society,” said Infantino.
“All players have to be safe and secure to play the game which brings such joy to so many people all over the world.
“I call on the relevant authorities to ensure that this is respected at all levels and for the perpetrators of the shocking events in Trabzon to be held accountable for their actions.”
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1714206803labto1714206803ofdlr1714206803owedi1714206803sni@o1714206803fni1714206803