Fenerbahce say youth team walk-off in Turkish Super Cup final against Galatasaray was to 'defend the truth'
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Published 07/04/2024 at 22:11 GMT
Back in December last year, the Turkish Super Cup was postponed as the Saudi Arabian hosts refused to allow the players to wear warm-up tops with the face of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and April's rearranged tie was enveloped in further controversy when Fenerbahce fielded an Under-19 team against Galatasaray before walking off the pitch after just one minute.
Players of Galatasaray applaud players of Fenerbahce while they leaving the pitch during Turkish Super Cup football match between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce at 11 Nisan Stadium in Sanliurfa, Turkiye on April 07, 2024
Image credit: Getty Images
Fenerbahce have announced that they fielded a youth team and walked off the pitch early in their Turkish Super Cup final against Galatasaray to “defend the truth.”
The two Istanbul-based sides met on Sunday afternoon and Fenerbahce fielded their Under-19 side.
Mauro Icardi scored in the opening seconds for Galatasaray, at which point the Fener team left the pitch as the club protested perceived recent injustices.
The club had requested that the match be postponed to allow them more time to prepare for their UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie against Olympiacos on Thursday, which was denied.
The match was awarded to Galatasaray after the game was abandoned.
Fenerbahce president Ali Koc said at a press conference before the match: "It is time for Turkish football to be reset."
Fenerbahce were also protesting the decision to deny their request to use a foreign referee for the match, as they believed Turkish officials were favouring their opponents.
Exacerbating their decision were one-match bans for two of their players after Trabzonspor fans invaded the pitch in a game against Fenerbahce on March 17, leading to fights between their players and the trespassing fans.
The match was already beset by controversy when the original hosts, Saudi Arabia, refused to permit players to wear shirts in their warm-ups displaying the image of modern Turkey’s founder, Musafa Kemal Ataturk. That match was due to take place in Riyadh in September.
In a statement on their official X account and website, the club wrote: "Today, when we take to the field not to win but to defend the truth, what we want to emphasise in order to summarise our attitude is this:
“Serving Turkish sports with its 117-year history not only in football but in every branch we compete in, [with] thousands of trophies in its museum bearing the traces of sweat and labour.
"Feeling the national values of his country with his 30 million fans. As the world's largest sports club, we will continue to stand tall today and tomorrow, as we did yesterday.”
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