By David Gold
August 24 – Spartak Moscow has accused Turkish hackers of targeting their website after they beat Fenerbahçe in a UEFA Champions League qualifier this week.
Spartak won the first leg of the clash between the two sides 2-1 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Tuesday (August 21).
But Turks were apparently incensed by Russian fans holding a picture of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the modern Turkish state after the First World War, and reportedly later setting fire to it.
The Spartak website was unavailable for most the evening and was still down the following afternoon.
A picture of Atatürk was then placed on the website’s homepage, along with a Turkish message reading: “Apologise immediately to the Turkish people.”
“FIFA will ignore this, but we will not allow this crime to go unpunished,” it continued.
On their Twitter feed, the Moscow giants later claimed: “Our site is still under attack from Turkish hackers”, although they revealed no details of how they identified those culpable.
The simmering tension could boil over when the two sides meet again in Istanbul next week.
Istanbul is notorious as an unforgiving place for visiting teams at the best of times due to the passionate support the Turkish capital’s main teams, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, receive.
“The Turkish side have guaranteed our security in the away leg,” Spartak’s official fan club director Oleg Semenov told Championat.
“We will discuss whether to bring with us members of the Russian police force.
“UEFA has been informed about what is happening.”
Both clubs’ supporters have a history of violence.
Fenerbahçe fans went on the rampage earlier this year after a game with local rivals Galatasaray, who claimed the league title with a goalless draw.
Hundreds of fans rioted after the game, while Spartak’s following are no strangers to such behaviour themselves.
In April their supporters fought with followers of Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg prior to a league match in Moscow.
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