Fenerbahce are reportedly considering quitting the Turkish SuperLig in protest over their perceived poor treatment by the country’s authorities. If the club goes through with their threat, they will face forfeiting all their league matches and will be relegated to the second tier.
The Turkish giants are reportedly unhappy that no action has yet been taken after Tranbzonspor fans streamed onto the pitch in their hundreds after the two clubs met at the weekend. Supporters goaded the players of Fenerbahce, who had just secured an important 3-2 victory.
Players including former Manchester City star Edin Dzeko and the ex-Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi were physically confronted. Batshuayi swung a kick in the direction of one individual but missed.
The chaos has caused anger at Fenerbahce, who believe their players were placed in serious danger. “The treatment Fenerbahce receives is not something we can tolerate,” president Ali Koc said earlier this week.
According to The Athletic, the club’s gripe is not just exclusive to the weekend’s events. Instead, they believe they have been poorly treated for a number of years. Their argument reportedly stretches back to a season-defining match against Denizlispor in 2006.
On the final day of the 2005-06 season, Fenerbahce lost the league title during a game in which they were subjected to missiles being thrown from the stands.
The 19-time SuperLig champions also refer to the Turkish match-fixing scandal in which they were caught up in several allegations. Aziz Yildirim, the club’s former president, was jailed for six years but in 2020 his conviction was quashed and Fenerbahce were cleared of any wrongdoing.
In 2015, when the team were travelling to the airport after a game against Rizespor, bullets were fired at the team coach and almost caused it to career off the edge of a cliff.
It is claimed that Fenerbahce are also unhappy with their treatment by referees, although this is a familiar complaint across most clubs in Turkey. Their anger is not entirely with the Turkish Football Federation and they believe that the country’s government has also treated them unfairly.
Fenerbahce will reportedly put a decision to a general assembly of the club’s members, scheduled to take place on April 2. They are currently second in the SuperLig, two points behind title rivals Galatasaray.
By the time a decision is made on withdrawing from the league, Ismail Kartal’s side may be top of the division and on course for a 20th title. Their victory over Trabzonspor was marred by chaos at full-time.
The players stayed to celebrate on the pitch but were confronted by hundreds of Trabzonspor supporters who had streamed beyond security. Forward Batshuayi swung a kick at one, while winger Bright Osayi-Samuel threw a punch at another in a horror scene that went viral on social media.
