Galatasaray were celebrating what might have been the quickest cup final victory on record on Sunday, after they were awarded the Super Cup in Turkey after barely a minute of action.
Rivals Fenerbahce opted to line up for the game with their under-19 team, before walking off the pitch soon after kick-off – with Mauro Icardi scoring just 50 seconds or so after kick-off for Galatasaray.
The departure from the field by the youngsters meant the match was abandoned and Galatasaray handed the victory, in what appears to be the latest stage of Fenerbahce signalling their immense displeasure with the Turkish Football Federation, just days after they called in supporter members to vote on potentially leaving the Super Lig.
In midweek, Fener members opted against that drastic course of action, which was called into possibility after the club were furious that three players and two staff members were cited by the Turkish FA for reacting to Trabzonspor fans who were attacking them, having invaded the pitch in a recent league fixture.
The Super Cup itself was rescheduled from December to now after Saudi Arabia, where the match was originally due to be played, reportedly refused to allow pre-match warm-up t-shirts featuring a picture of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Fenerbahce were also reportedly displeased that this new date was not altered as they prepare for a Europa Conference League clash against Olympiacos in midweek, and therefore opted to field effectively a youth side for this clash.
With Fenerbahce opting to continue in the league, they will be attempting to catch Galatasaray for that trophy instead – they trail by just two points with seven games left to play, while the two teams are due to meet on the penultimate game of the season.
Earlier this season, Turkish football was again in the headlines for negative reasons when Faruk Koca, then president of top-flight club MKE Ankaragucu, punched a referee and was subsequently banned for life.
Onlookers to the Super Cup fixture reported that Galatasaray sent out their own reserves to play against the seniors, to enable fans who purchased a ticket to at least witness some football.
