Court sees corner pole as ‘fatal weapon’

İZMİR

The court has arrested the assailant involved in the tragic incident of the Nov. 27 İzmir derby for injuring a goalkeeper over the charge of “homicidal attempt,” considering the corner pole used by the assailant a “fatal weapon.”

The derby between the western province of İzmir’s rivals, Göztepe and Altay, was suspended when a signal flare was thrown from Altay hooligans at the Göztepe stand, injuring a man and two children.

Seconds after, a Göztepe fan named Mehmet Nihat Aydın injured Altay’s goalkeeper Ozan Evrim Özenç with a corner pole. The police detained 21 suspects from both sides in one of the most tragic football events in the country.

In his first testimony, Aydın said, “I was drunk. I do not remember anything I did.”

However, the court took an arrest decision, determining the corner post as a “fatal weapon” and the act as a “homicidal attempt.”

The police investigation showed that the signal flares were brought into the stadium by two ambulance drivers said to be “fanatic Altay fans.”

“This is not İzmir,” said Mehmet Serpil, a Göztepe board member, underlining his sorrow for the events. Ayhan Dündar, the president of Altay, also reprimanded the incident.

Calling the situation “a first in İzmir,” Selim Köşger, the governor of the Aegean province, stated that those involved in the acts “will be punished harshly within the law.”

Sports commentators also reacted to the derby fight. “They are not hooligans but terrorists,” said daily Hürriyet columnist Uğur Meleke, asking the authorities to punish the hooligans with harsh sentences. “If this issue is taken lightly, bigger stadium terror events may occur in the future,” he added.

“While there is no historical tension between the two teams, the events that took place were incomprehensible,” said Güntekin Onay, another commentator for the daily Hürriyet.

The Turkish Football Federation, which gave a break in Süper Lig due to the World Cup, did not announce the time of the renewal match of the İzmir rivals that play in the First League.