Ukrainian club knocks Fenerbahçe out of Champions League
ISTANBUL
Fenerbahçe fans will have to wait for another year to hear the Champions League anthem at the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium after their team was knocked out of the top European club event with a 2-1 loss at home to Dynamo Kiev on July 27.
The Istanbul club was down to 10 men in the 53rd minute when İsmail Yüksek was sent off after receiving his second yellow card following a goalless first half.
Vitaliy Buyalskyi put the visiting side ahead four minutes later in the return game of a 2-2 draw on July 19, while Enner Valencia missed the chance to level the game when he missed a penalty shot in the 70th minute.
Attila Szalai gave the supporters in the stands some hope with the equalizer he scored two minutes from the final whistle, carrying the match to extra time. But those hopes faded when Oleksandr Karavayev scored in the 114th minute to take Dynamo Kiev, which had played its last official game before the first leg last December, to the next round.
The game also had its off-pitch controversy when Fenerbahçe supporters cheered for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February, after the Kiev club’s first goal.
Dynamo Kiev coach Mircea Lucescu, who in the past coached Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Beşiktaş, did not attend the post-game press conference to protest the chanting.
Fenerbahçe will continue its European campaign in the Europa League, with a third-round qualification match against Slovacko of the Czech Republic scheduled for Aug. 4.
