Fenerbahçe, one of İstanbul’s leading football clubs, is considering pulling out of the Turkish Super Lig in response to recent post-match violence at an away match on Sunday that saw rival club fans enter the pitch and attack its players.
The attacks took place as fans invaded the pitch after the Fenerbahçe players and coaching staff celebrated their 3-2 win in Trabzon, with goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic getting punched in the face.
Videos showed Belgian international Michy Batshuayi kicking a fan who had entered the pitch and Nigerian international Bright Osayi-Samuel punching another supporter.
Fenerbahçe has called an emergency general meeting for April 2 to discuss possible measures, including withdrawal from the league, the club announced.
Fenerbahçe president Ali Koç described the incident as a “disgrace to Turkish football” and pointed the finger at those he said had fomented violence and hatred between the two clubs over the past 13 or 14 years.
Koç, who also announced his resignation from the presidency of the Club Association Foundation, emphasized the club’s determination to go its own way, even if it means relegation to a lower league.
“We will take our destiny into our own hands. If necessary, we will be relegated to a lower league.” We will chart our own destiny. If it means we must face relegation, so be it. It’s better to face this once than to live in fear every day,” said Koç, adding that this statement was not a “threat.”
Trabzonspor also issued a statement through its president, Ertuğrul Doğan, in which he spoke out against portraying the city of Trabzon, the club and its fans in a bad light for the events that took place. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) is continuing its investigation into the incident. The reports of the referees and delegates are being evaluated by the TFF’s legal committee, which will likely announce disciplinary measures by Thursday.
The violence has been condemned by the global football community, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who described the incidents as “absolutely unacceptable.” Infantino called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure the safety of players at all levels.
Turkish football is still reeling from another violent incident. The attack on referee Halil Umut Meler by the former president of Ankaragücü, Faruk Koca, after a match against Rizespor resulted in a lifetime ban for Koca and the temporary suspension of the league.
Fenerbahçe’s withdrawal from the league as the leading contender in the race for the 2023/24 Super Lig championship would be unprecedented. In a season where the club has been neck-and-neck with Galatasaray in the title race, the potential decision to leave the league threatens to shake up Turkish football.
A number of Fenerbahçe trips to Trabzon in recent times have also been marred by violence.
A 2016 game against Trabzonspor was abandoned in the closing minutes after an assistant referee was attacked by a home supporter.
The year before that the Fenerbahçe team bus came under attack from a gunman en route to the airport on the way back from the neighboring Black Sea city of Rize, leaving the driver seriously injured.
In 2014 a match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe was called off at half-time after the Istanbul club’s players were pelted with objects thrown onto the pitch by home fans.
Trabzonspor, who won the Turkish title two years ago, also found themselves in the spotlight in 2015 when the club president locked the referee and his assistants inside the stadium overnight in protest of a decision not to award his team a penalty.
They were eventually released the following morning after a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.