Fenerbahce threaten to withdraw from Turkish Super Lig

Fenerbahce are threatening to withdraw from the Turkish Super Lig over what they view as unfair treatment from the authorities.

The threat comes after their game against Trabzonspor last weekend ended in chaos, as fans invaded the pitch at full-time and physically confronted Fenerbahce players.

The match was stopped for several minutes in the second-half as missiles rained down from the stands and struck several Fenerbahce players, including Edin Dzeko and Dusan Tadic, but most notably goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who was left bleeding after being hit on the chin by a coin.

After the final whistle blew several people ran onto the pitch from the stands and confronted a number of Fenerbahce players.

Some, including Nigeria international Bright Osayi-Samuel and Dutch full-back Jayden Oosterwolde, fought back against the pitch invaders. Osayi-Samuel punched one and Oosterwolde aimed a kick at the same man, while he was on the floor. Forward Michy Batshuayi aimed a kick at another, but missed.

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According to team sources familiar with the club’s thinking, Fenerbahce are upset that no significant action has yet been taken with regards to the events in Trabzon, when they believe their players were in significant danger of serious harm. Other than the cut to Livakovic’s face, their players escaped injury.

However, in the club’s view this threat is not only to do with Sunday. They believe the club has been unfairly treated in a number of ways over the years, stretching right back to a game against Denizlispor on the final day of the 2006 season when they lost the league title, a game that was similarly disrupted by missiles from the stands. No evidence of any corruption or plots against Fenerbahce was ever found.

They also cite the Turkish match-fixing scandal of 2011, when Fenerbahce were caught up in various allegations of corruption. The club’s former president, Aziz Yildirim, was jailed for six years, but in 2020 his conviction was quashed and the club as an institution was cleared of any wrongdoing.

There was also the shocking incident in 2015, when the team was travelling to the airport after a game against Rizespor, and bullets were fired at the team coach, almost causing it to veer off a cliff.

The club also believe, as most clubs in Turkey do, that they have been unfairly treated by referees in recent seasons.

Their complaint is not specifically with the Turkish Football Federation, but with the authorities in general, including the national government, who they believe treat Fenerbahce unfairly.

Sunday’s game against Trabzonspor saw fans enter the field (Serkan Hacioglu /dia images via Getty Images)

“The treatment Fenerbahce receives is not something we can tolerate,” said club president Ali Koc earlier this week, when he hinted that they would take drastic action.

It is understood that the decision will be put to a general assembly of the club’s members, due to take place on April 2.

In practical terms, should Fenerbahce go through with this threat they will forfeit all games for the remainder of the season and be relegated to the second tier next season.

Fenerbahce are currently second in the Super Lig table, two points behind Galatasaray, so if they do withdraw from the league then it will hand the title to their great rivals.

The two sides are due to play each other twice more this season: once in the Super Cup, a match tentatively rearranged for April 7 after the first attempt in Riyadh in December was postponed (both sides refused to play when they were denied permission to wear t-shirts and hold banners commemorating the founder of the modern Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk), and once in the league, which is scheduled for the weekend of May 18.

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(Seskim Photo/MB Media/Getty Images)