Trabzonspor appeals to ECHR to overturn Süper Lig 2011 title

TRABZON

The Black Sea football club, Trabzonspor, has applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to overturn the outcome of the 2010-11 Turkish Süper Lig, in which they finished runners-up, and Istanbul’s Fenerbahçe claimed the championship title, the club’s website announced on Feb. 16.

“Our legal fight to overturn the outcome of the 2010-11 Süper Lig at [the Federation Internationale de Football Association] FIFA and [the Union of European Football Associations] UEFA have remained inconclusive,” according to the club’s statement.

“The world and European football organizations would not interfere even if match-fixing would have been ruled that season,” it added.

Calling themselves “justice seekers,” the club said, “With the decision of the club’s board, our lawyers in Switzerland have finished the preparatory work and have applied to the ECHR.”

A long-standing dispute between the clubs began when three officials from Fenerbahçe, in-cluding its president, were embroiled in an alleged match-fixing scandal in the 2010-11 sea-son.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) subsequently sanctioned the three officials in May 2012 but did not punish the club.

In July 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Trabzonspor’s appeal for the league title.