April 8 – In an extraordinary move, Fenerbahce fielded a youth team and walked off the pitch two minutes into the Turkish Super Cup final on Sunday, handing bitter rivals Galatasaray the trophy.
Fenerbahce fielded their under-19 side and forfeited the game in protest at alleged unfair treatment amid a chorus of boos while international broadcasters apparently requested a refund on the fees they paid to screen the game.
The club had asked for the match to be postponed to give them more time to prepare for a Europa League quarter-final against Olympiakos of Greece on Thursday but football authorities rejected the plea.
As a result the Super Cup ended in chaos after only 101 seconds as Fenerbahce conceded an early goal and Galatasaray were then declared the winners.
Along with this, Fenerbahce were angry with the federation’s handling of a pitch invasion last month which had seen their players attacked by Trabzonspor fans. Two Fenerbahçe players were banned for one match by the Turkish soccer federation after retaliating.
In a statement, the club said they took to the field in Sanliurfa, about 1,000 km from Istanbul on Sunday “not to win but to defend the truth”, adding they will “continue to stand tall”.
Fenerbahce are fuming at the Turkish FA over what they deem as weak action following several incidents in recent years.
They reportedly believe the alleged unfair treatment stems from the infamous match-fixing scandal of 2011, which saw their ex-club president Aziz Yildirim jailed. He was later released and cleared of any wrongdoing.
Fenerbahçe president Yıldırım Ali Koç spoke of a “rebellion” and added: “It is time for Turkish football to be reset.”
The Turkish Super Cup had originally been scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh in December but was postponed.
Media reported at the time that the two teams refused to play as Saudi authorities did not allow the players to wear T-shirts featuring the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the warm-up ahead of the evening kick-off.
The latest incident continues a season of complete disarray in Turkish football, which has also seen an official punched on the pitch by Ankaragucu’s club president back in December.
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