Published On: Sun, Apr 7th, 2024

Fenerbahce chaos as team walk off to concede cup final to Galatasaray after just 1 minute | Football | Sport


Fenerbahce’s players walked off the pitch after just one minute of the Turkish Super Cup final against Galatasaray, who were awarded the trophy as a result. The move appeared to be part of a protest by Fenerbahce, with the club fielding a team of under-19 players for the match in Sanliurfa.

Mauro Icardi opened the scoring for Galatasaray inside the first minute before Fenerbahce’s players left the pitch, forcing the game to be abandoned. Galatasaray were then confirmed as Turkish Super Cup champions and were seen celebrating in front of their fans in the stadium.

It was reported before the match that Fenerbahce were planning to field a team entirely comprised of youth players as a protest against the Turkish Football Federation. According to GOAL Turkey, they asked for the match to be postponed because of their Europa Conference League quarter-final against Olympiacos on Thursday.

This request was said to have been refused, along with another to have foreign referees officiate the match. The fixture was originally set to be played in Saudi Arabia in December but was called off following a disagreement between the clubs and the host nation’s authorities.

It is said that players wanted to wear shirts bearing the name of national icon Mustafa Kemal Ataturk but the Saudi authorities would not allow it. Fenerbahce were also said to be frustrated over the handling of a riot during last month’s game against Trabzonspor, which saw their players attacked by rival fans.

Their plan to field an under-19 side against Galatasaray was revealed earlier this week by the club’s deputy president, Erol Bilecik, who also urged fans not to travel or expect the match to be played out in full.

He said: “We made all our preparations to go to Urfa with our under-19 team. Our fans are thinking about the score of the match. We are going to Urfa with an extremely good mind. You will not be at a point that will make you feel bad or put you in trouble. We do not need our fans to organise going to the match.

“I say again, our fans should not make any travel plans. Of course, whoever wants to go to the match can go. We say fans should not go. We clearly state that our ‘A’ team will not go to Urfa and that it will not be a 90-minute match.

“Of course, the geographical areas and culinary culture of Urfa are attractive for our fans. We said these, thinking that they would not have the opportunity to watch a football match there.”



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