Fenerbahçe-Trabzonspor game halted after crowd trouble

TRABZON

The referee went to the dressing room and called off the game in the ninth minute of stoppage time in the first half. AA photo

A March 10 Turkish league match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe was halted after fans repeatedly threw objects on the pitch.

Referee Bülent Yıldırım stopped the game in the 30th minute when a stone was thrown on the pitch. The game restarted after a brief break, but Yıldırım halted the game after another rain of objects, including stones, iron pieces and flares, flew onto the field.

The referee went to the dressing room and called off the game in the ninth minute of stoppage time in the first half.

Fenerbahçe was leading 1-0 with a goal from Emmanuel Emenike when the game was halted.  

The clashes continued outside the ground, and six police officers were injured, according to reports.

Matches between the two teams have always been heated following the 2010-2011 season, when Fenerbahçe won the title on goal difference alone over Trabzonspor. Two months after the title, an Istanbul prosecutor launched a match-fixing investigation with charges that Fenerbahçe officials attempted to manipulate the matches, along with a couple of officials, players and coaches from other teams. In 2012, a judge found Chairman Aziz Yıldırım and his fellow board members guilty of match-fixing and earlier this year, their appeals were rejected.

Fenerbahçe is serving a two-year UEFA ban from European competitions, but the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) refused to impose a ban on Fenerbahçe, saying even though there were efforts to manipulate the games, they were not reflected on the pitch.

Trabzonspor, for its part, made several submissions to the TFF along with Turkish and international courts to be awarded the 2011 Super League trophy.

The crowd only dispersed after Trabzonspor captain Onur Kıvrak talked to them.

“We will fight until the end [for the 2011 trophy] but not now,” he said. “Now let’s leave here in a fitting way for Trabzonspor. Then we will continue fighting until death.”

The TFF will decide on the outcome of the game, but it is likely that the game will be ruled a 3-0 win for Fenerbahçe.

Earlier in the season, a derby game between Beşiktaş and Galatasaray was halted with the latter leading 2-1 before fans invaded the pitch to force a halt. The TFF declared a 3-0 win for Galatasaray and ordered Beşiktaş to play four matches behind closed doors.