CRAZY SCENE IN TURKISH SUPER CUP : FENERBAHÇE LEAVES THE FIELD AFTER THREE MINUTES, GALATASARAY DECIDES TO FACE… ITS SUBSTITUTES
The Turkish Super Cup led to a rather surreal evening this Sunday in Sanluifra, in the southeast of the country. After Mauro Icardi’s quick opening goal, Fenerbahçe players left the field in protest. Galatasaray then chose to organize a training match against their substitutes, in front of a stunned audience.
Fenerbahçe players left the field just three minutes into the Turkish Super Cup against Galatasaray on Sunday night to denounce what they see as injustices towards their club. The Istanbul club’s management had decided, for similar reasons, to field eleven young players from their under-19 team for this match. After conceding a goal just one minute into the game, the players left the field, bringing the match to an end.
It’s time for the clocks of Turkish football to be reset, » said Fenerbahçe president Ali Koç during a press conference organized before the match in Sanliurfa (southeastern Turkey). Asserting that too many championship titles have « escaped » Fenerbahçe in dubious ways, Ali Koç denounced the existence of an « underground network in Turkish football for years » which, they claim, « decides the course of the championship through the referees.
The Turkish Super Cup was initially scheduled for December 29th last year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the match was postponed at the last minute as Saudi organizers refused to allow players to wear jerseys with political slogans. Both teams had wanted to warm up wearing jerseys featuring Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, to celebrate the centenary of the Turkish Republic.
