Fenerbahçe bids farewell to fan who lost life at derby

ISTANBUL

Ali Koç, President of Fenerbahçe, helped carrying the coffin during the funeral ceremony at the stadium.

Thousands of Fenerbahçe fans and club executives attended the funeral ceremony of the 22-year-old fan on Nov. 4, who died just before the derby match between the Istanbul club and the rival Galatasaray on Nov. 2.

Koray Şener’s name will be written on a seat, Fenerbahçe’s president Ali Koç told the audience at the Fenerbahçe Ülker Stadium in Istanbul’s district of Kadıköy on the Anatolian side.

“We will not forget you” and “we will also be good guys when we die” read the banners unfurled by fans, in a reference to a social media post by Şener.

Footballers Mehmet Topal and Hasan Ali Kaldırım also addressed the crowd to bid farewell to the fan who passed away.

The burial service was held in the northwestern province of Kocaeli after a ceremony on Nov. 4.

Şener was hospitalized at the beginning of the match after fainting and died of heart attack at the hospital. Fenerbahçe fans left the stadium shortly after the death was announced.

Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe ended the 338th derby football match in a 2-2 draw in Turkey’s top-tier Spor Toto Süper League, after Yellow Canaries made a comeback scoring two goals in the second half.