Derby overshadowed with e-ticket row

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

Fenerbahçe’s Spor Toto Super League title celebrations were put on hold after a 1-1 draw against Beşiktaş in the April 20 Istanbul derby match, which was overshadowed by the ongoing e-ticket controversy.

The Yellow Canaries, who were set to clinch their 19th Turkish football championship with a win over their archrivals, now need just one draw in their remaining four matches to clinch the title.
On April 20, Beşiktaş’s Ramon Motta canceled out Moussa Sow’s opening goal.

However, the main talk of the game was over the e-ticket scheme, which was launched in this weekend’s round of the Super League. A number of supporters’ groups, including Beşiktaş’s leading fan club, çArşı, have called for boycotts of the card.

The card comes in three forms: Credit card, debit card and pre-paid card, and include the identity information of the supporter on one side and his or her photograph on the other. The new system is under fire not only for the extra commission costs that it puts on football supporters - which will go into the pockets of Çalık Holding, which owns the investment bank Aktif Yatırım Bankası that is operating the system and is known for its close links to the government - but also over concerns about private data and its security.

The operating company will have access to supporters’ national identity data, bank accounts and other private data, and will be able share it with the police and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).

Only 8,178 fans carried e-tickets for the derby, marking a failure in the 80,000-seater Atatürk Olympic Stadium. With season ticket holders included, a total of only 18,990 fans were in the stadium on April 20.

According to media reports, problems were also experienced in the first big test of the e-ticket system, and some fans were able to pass through the turnstiles with their bus pass cards, instead of using the e-tickets. The problem was later noticed by security guards at the stadium.