By Mark Baber
May 14 – Another milestone in the downward spiral of Turkish football has been reached with a statement by the Turkey Football Federation that six Süper Lig clubs have failed to meet UEFA’s requirements to participate in European football in the 2015-2016 season.
In order to play in UEFA’s competitions clubs need to pass legal and financial criteria – and six clubs including Mersin İdmanyurdu, Eskişehirspor, Gaziantepspor, Kasımpaşa, Balıkesirspor and Suat Altın İnşaat Kayseri Erciyesspor have failed the tests, with 30 days to get their affairs in order.
Mersin İdmanyurdu is the highest placed team amongst those in trouble, currently in seventh place in the Süper Lig, whilst the other teams are in 10th, 11th, 12th, 17th and 18th places, and unlikely to participate in European level football in any case.
The teams which did meet UEFA’s criteria include Spor Toto Super League Akhisar Municipality Youth and Sports, Inc. Besiktas, Bursaspor, Çaykur Rizespor Co., Inc. Fenerbahce and Galatasaray AS, Chelsea, Istanbul Esenyurt Inc. Kardemir Karabükspor, Sivasspor, Torque Konyaspor and Trabzonspor.
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TFF President Yıldırım Demirören has warned that clubs who fail to meet UEFA criteria also face the danger of losing their licenses to play domestically, which would have massive consequences domestically.
Turkish football has come under sustained pressure for political reasons, with attendances having fallen dramatically in response to government attempts to introduce ID cards for fans.
The game has also been plagued by violence, from spectators invading pitches and attacking referees, coaches and players as well as from unknown quarters – with shots having recently hit the Fenerbahce team bus, injuring the driver who managed to keep control of the vehicle to prevent a bigger tragedy.
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