Fenerbahçe survives another Trabzon battle
TRABZON
The Ziraat Turkish Cup game betwen1461 Trabzon and Fenerbahçe was stopped several times due to objects and fireworks thrown from the stands. The hostile reception to Fenerbahçe in Trabzon is no surprise, as the two clubs have been clashing for the last two years over the match-fixing case. AA photo
Fenerbahçe beat 1461 Trabzon with two late goals in an expectedly tense game in the Ziraat Turkish Cup game on Jan. 13.Semih Şentürk and Dirk Kuyt scored in the last six minutes to give Fenerbahçe a key away victory in the Ziraat Turkish Cup Group A.
With the win, Fenerbahçe extended its lead in the group to three points over Sivasspor and Bursaspor.
However, the talking point of the game focused on off-pitch incidents as the game was stopped several times due to fireworks being thrown from the stands.
One of the objects thrown at the pitch was a stone, which hit coach Aykut Kocaman.
“There is anger and violence everywhere; it slightly hurt,” Kocaman said after the game. “But deep inside it hurt me more. It is not just about Trabzon. As a nation, we start to define ourselves with anger and violence.”
Rigging case
That was Fenerbahçe’s first-ever meeting with second-tier 1461 Trabzon but the incidents at the game were expected, given the tense exchanges between the Istanbul club and Trabzonspor in the past.
1461 Trabzon is a feeder club for Trabzonspor, who has been clashing with Fenerbahçe over the last two years.
Fenerbahçe’s last visit to the Avni Aker Stadium, where the game on Jan. 13 was also played, was a similarly tense game played under a constant rain of objects thrown from the stands, and resulted in the playing of four matches behind closed doors for Trabzonspor.
Fenerbahçe had won that game 2-1.
Trabzonspor, 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.
Today, Trabzonspor will play a Ziraat Turkish Cup match against the struggling Mersin İdman Yurdu.
After beating Antalyaspor 3-2, Trabzonspor leads Group B with six points from two matches.
Mersin, on the other hand, allowed eight goals in its first match and is hardly focusing on the cup competition since the club is also fighting relegation in the Spor Toto Super League.
According to the Ziraat Turkish Cup statutes, the top two teams from each group will enter a semifinal round.