The football match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe that took place on March 17 at 8:30 p.m at Trabzon, Papara Park, ultimately ended in chaos as a fight broke out between players and fans after the game. This incident not only left a lasting impact on sports, but also created a huge shock effect to the Turkish football community. The roots of the incident will be understood through the explanation of some historical context of the match and some key figures as well as implications of the fight.
There is a long standing rivalry between Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor as they are two of the most competitive four teams of Türkiye; which are Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Trabzonspor and Beşiktaş. Both of these clubs have really passionate fan bases who are willing to support these teams anytime and anywhere in any case. Therefore, this match was anticipated to have lots of excitement with the hopes of taking a step towards winning the championship cup from both sides.
Some key figures from the match were the players, the referees and the coaches of both of the teams. The coaches were Abdullah Avcı for Trabzonspor, and İsmail Kartal for Fenerbahçe. Moreover, the referee of the match was Halil Umut Meler who tried to maintain a fair play throughout the match as well as peace. However, it was the actions of certain individuals after the final whistle that had the most significant effect on the incident.
Fenerbahçe scored 3 goals, coming from Fred and Michy Batshuayi, while Trabzonspor scored 2 goals which were scored by Enis Bardhi and Mahmoud Trezeguet, resulting in the victory of Fenerbahçe.
After the first goal of Fenerbahçe, a foreign matter was thrown onto the field and hit the coach of Fenerbahçe, İsmail Kartal, because of which he was treated with an ice pack. Throughout the match, due to explosive objects and water bottles being thrown to the field by fans, there were some time-outs and pauses. This resulted in long disturbances and a 12 minute addition to the end of the match.
After the match ended with Fenerbahçe’s victory, the home side was upset and the tensions boiled. The players’ celebrations were marred by an incident where many fans stormed into the fields of Papara Park. Along with the fans, a huge number of security personnel rushed to the field to take everything under control. However, there was an enormous chaos and it was not easy to get it under control to stop the attack. There are some complaints about the Fenerbahçe players regarding that they not only just protected themselves but also they fought as well. Following the intervention of the security personnelles, Fenerbahçe players were able to go to the dressing room.
Trabzonspor player Enis Bardhi said "This is a sight I have never experienced before. They tried to provoke people while celebrating at the end of the match.", expressing his feelings, this opposed the general view supporting Fenerbahçe players.
The Fenerbahçe team and staff were not able to leave the Papara Park Stadium due to the chaos and increased security measures. Following the safety protocols on the route to the airport, the police allowed the team to exit and go to the airport with an escort of a security cortege.
After this incident, the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya made a statement on his X account to show that everything is under control, “After the Trabzonspor-Fenerbahçe football match played this evening, efforts to identify the spectators entering the field and an investigation into the events that took place afterward were promptly initiated.”. Furthermore, the Turkish Football Federation as well as the Minister of Youth and Sports said that they are observing and following the process carefully. Everyone experienced sadness towards this kind of an incident in the Turkish football history which hosts many successful teams throughout the year.
Days after the match, the procedures of 13 suspects at the police stations were completed and 8 of these suspects were released on condition of judicial control. Hasan Ç. was the first fan to jump on the field and other 4 suspects including Engin T., who ran towards the players with the corner post in his hand, were arrested.
The match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe ended in pure chaos and conflicts, resulting in injured players, fans and personnell, while some spectators were arrested and many investigations of the professionals were initiated.
Works Cited
“Trabzonspor-Fenerbahçe Maçı Sonrası Yaşanan Olaylara Ilişkin 5 Kişi Tutuklandı.”.
“Fenerbahçe, Trabzonspor Maçı Sonrası Olağanüstü Genel Kurulu 2 Nisan’da Ligden Çekilme Gündemiyle Toplayacak: Ali Koç, Kulüpler Birliği Başkanlığı’ndan Istifa Etti.” BBC News Türkçe, 17 Mar. 2024.
“Fenerbahce Win at Trabzonspor in Match Marred by Clashes.”.