May 27 – Galatasaray clinched the Turkish league title on Sunday, edging out city rivals Fenerbahce with a record total of 102 points.
Galatasaray needed just a point in their final game at Konyaspor and won 3-1 while Fenerbahce thrashed last-place Istanbulspor 6-0 but could only finish three points back on 99, the second-highest tally ever for a 38-game season in the Turkish league.
Fenerbahce had delayed the title celebration by one week when they won 1-0 at Galatasaray last Sunday – the only points the champions dropped at home all season. Fenerbahce have now been runners-up six times since their last title in 2014.
The two Istanbul clubs were head and shoulders above the other Superlig teams this term. Third-placed Trabzonspor ended with 67 points.
Galatasaray’s triumph completed a season punctuated by controversy on and off the field. In December, the president of Superlig club Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, was arrested for punching the referee in the face at the end of a match, with the official telling police that Koca had also threatened to kill him.
Two weeks later, the Super Cup final between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was postponed shortly before kick-off due to a political controversy over the clubs’ warm-up kit.
When the match was finally played in April, Fenerbahce’s players walked off after one minute, forcing the game to be abandoned after their request to postpone it because it was too close to a vital European fixture was rejected.
And in March, Trabzonspor fans stormed the pitch and brawled with security forces and Fenerbahce players. Fenerbahce subsequently threatened to withdraw from the league but ultimately decided to play on.
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