October 6 – The UEFA Conference League match between Besiktas and Swiss Lugano in Istanbul was marred by Besiktas fans forcing the president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Mehmet Büyükekşi to leave the Tupras stadium before the end of the first half.
Büyükekşi (pictured) watched the game in the company of Turkey’s Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, Besiktas President Ahmet Nur Çebi and other TFF members.
The match started with fan protests aimed at the Besiktas management, calling for their immediate resignations. The relationship between the Turkish Football Federation and Besiktas has been very strained over the past year. This is not the first time that Besiktas fans have demanded the TFF president resign.
After the incident, Büyükekşi said: “I am really sorry. As TFF management, we try to go to the European matches of all our teams. We also came to Besiktas’s match. During the matches organized for the earthquake victims, Mr. Çebi told us, ‘You don’t come to our matches.’ We made a return visit. But we encountered an environment we did not expect. Everyone does what suits them. If what happened was isolated, I would have stayed. But it was an organized event. Mr. Minister also expressed his sadness. We got his approval and left the match.”
Besiktas suffered a dramatic loss at the end of the match. Despite having a two-goal lead, the hosts conceded three goals in the final minutes of the match, losing 3:2.
Long after the final whistle, Besiktas fans remained in the stands calling on the team’s coaches and players to explain their performance. However, none of them showed up faced the fans.
Immediately after the match, Besiktas management held an emergency meeting, with the team’s coach, Senol Gunes, seen departing the stadium at 1am.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1725753741labto1725753741ofdlr1725753741owedi1725753741sni@o1725753741fni1725753741