Ended in a Great Match, but Player-Crowd Brawl... Chaos in Turkey Professional Football

Minister of the Interior: "Violence at Soccer Stadiums Cannot Be Tolerated"

In Turkish professional football, a brawl broke out involving players and spectators.

Trabzonspor lost 2-3 to Fenerbahce in the 30th round home match of the 2023-2024 Turkish S?per Lig held at Papara Park in Trabzon, Turkey, on the 18th (Korean time). However, judging by the match itself, it was a thrilling contest.

Fenerbahce took a 2-0 lead in the first half, but Trabzonspor equalized with consecutive goals by Enis Bardhi in the 18th minute and Mahmud Hasan in the 33rd minute of the second half. However, Michy Batshuayi scored the winning goal in the 42nd minute of the second half, securing victory for Fenerbahce. When the final whistle blew confirming the win, Fenerbahce players celebrated on the pitch.

Violence incident in Turkish professional football.
[Photo by X]

At that moment, some home fans suddenly ran onto the field. In particular, a masked fan led the violent incident by striking a Fenerbahce player. Not only players and fans but also security personnel trying to intervene and officials from both teams got involved, and an excited crowd of fans from the stands rushed onto the field again, turning the scene into chaos in an instant.

A video capturing the incident circulated on social media (SNS). The footage showed Fenerbahce defender Bright Osayi-Samuel throwing a punch at a fan. However, Ismail Kartal, Fenerbahce’s coach, stated that the players did not provoke or incite the opposing fans.

Ali Yerlikaya, the Minister of Interior, announced via X (formerly Twitter) after the match that authorities have begun an investigation into the incident. Minister Yerlikaya said, "Violence in football stadiums is absolutely unacceptable." The Turkish Football Federation also issued a statement calling the incident "unacceptable" and said, "Those responsible will face criminal charges."

Turkish professional football has been struggling with repeated violent incidents on the field recently. In December last year, the owner of Ankara Guclu, dissatisfied with a referee's decision, stormed onto the field after the match and punched the head referee in the face. Fans of Ankara Guclu who rushed out together also assaulted the fallen referee, and the pitch turned into chaos as players and team officials tried to intervene.

At that time, the Turkish Football Federation called it "a disgrace to Turkish football" and temporarily suspended all league matches, stating that all those involved would pay the price.