Fener visits Trabzon in tense game

TRABZON

Fenerbahçe leads the Ziraat Turkish Cup Group A after a 2-0 win over Sivasspor on the first match day. AA photo

Turkish top-flight football returns with Ziraat Turkish Cup games this weekend, the highlight being Fenerbahçe’s visit to Trabzon.

The Istanbul club will meet 1461 Trabzon in a Group A game on Jan. 13.

Earlier, Sivasspor will host Bursaspor in the same group.

Despite being a second-tier team, 1461 Trabzon’s first-ever meeting with the Istanbul team is likely to be an electric one, with the minnows being a feeder club to Trabzonspor, who has been clashing with Fenerbahçe in the last two years.

Trabzon, who lost the 2010-11 Turkish league title to Fenerbahçe, has been claiming that it was robbed of a championship and deserves to be given the trophy. The club has made several official applications to national and international courts, including the European Court of Human Rights and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), but was rejected.

Several officials from Fenerbahçe, including the club’s chairman Aziz Yıldırım, were found guilty by an Istanbul court for attempting to manipulate matches from that campaign. The verdict is currently pending appeal.

Since the investigation became public on July 3, 2011, the matches between the two teams have been tense events and there are signs that the 1461 Trabzon vs. Fenerbahçe game will be similar.
Fenerbahçe’s last game at Trabzonspor in May was played under a constant rain of objects thrown from the stands and resulted in the playing of four matches behind closed doors.

1461 Trabzon’s parent club, Trabzonspor, will have an important match on Jan. 12, when it visits Antalyaspor in Group B. Both teams have won their first games in the group, meaning the match will be a battle for the top spot.

According to the Ziraat Turkish Cup statutes, the top two teams from each group will enter a semifinal round.