Yeseven before the Turkish final Super Cup On Sunday it was clear that the game would end in a farce. Fenerbahçe had previously asked their fans not to travel to Şanlıurfa for the final against Galatasaray Istanbul. Days before, the club's management had announced that the U-19 team would play. After a good minute and a first goal from Galatasaray (scorer: Icardi), the Fenerbahçe coach sent the youth team off the field and into the locker room. The game was whistled in the fourth minute.

Friederike Böge

Political correspondent for Türkiye, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan based in Ankara.

With the boycott, Fenerbahçe protested against a series of decisions by the Turkish Football Federation. The club had asked to postpone the final because Fenerbahçe was in the quarterfinals on Thursday European conference league meets Olympiacos Piraeus. The association rejected it, claiming that the Turkish team had to prepare for the European Championship. The association also did not agree to Fenerbahçe's request to have a foreign referee for the final.

Furthermore, the Club's rebellion is a response to what happened at an away match in Trabzon in mid-March. The opposing fans attacked the victorious Fenerbahçe on the field. Subsequently, the responsible disciplinary committee sanctioned two players who had defended themselves for one match each.

As punishment, Trabzonspor will have to play six games without spectators. Fenerbahçe president Ali Koç later declared at an extraordinary general meeting of the club in early April that the events in Tabzón had been “the straw that broke the camel's back.” He complained that neither the governor nor the Trabzon police chief, responsible for security measures, had been held accountable. Koç indicated that he suspected political motives because Fenerbahçe is close to the Turkish opposition.

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In a pre-match press conference on Sunday, the club president called for a “new beginning” for Turkish football. Regardless, celebrated Galatasaray On Sunday night he won his title, which however must first be confirmed by the disciplinary committee. Galatasaray president Dursun Özbek spoke of a “sad night” from which no one benefited.

The Super Cup match was originally scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia in December. At the time, both teams refused to compete after the host country banned players from wearing clothing and banners with portraits and sayings of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during warm-ups. The players wanted to commemorate the centenary of the Republic. The fact that the final was moved abroad was harshly criticized by the Turkish public.

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