Stadiums on hearth and gun assaults – Turkish footie stricken by years of bloodshed

Turkish football has been in the headlines for many of the wrong reasons recently – but violence and controversy in the Turkish game is nothing new.

Their fans came under heavy criticism following their first game at Euro 2024 against Georgia after it kicked off on the terraces.

Riot police had to be brought in to quell the unrest, with fans from both sides throwing punches at each other.

READ MORE: England’s ‘team of the future’ from 2007 only got 60 caps combined after many flopped

Click here for more of the latest news from the Daily Star

But back home in Turkey, the violence has involved players, managers and club owners as well as fans.

Last season was particularly shocking, with the Super Lig suspending all matches after the president of MKE Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, marched onto the pitch and smacked the ref.

His appalling behaviour after the game against Rizespor was followed by a pitch invasion by his club’s fans.

Halil Umut Meler was taken to hospital with a fractured eye socket and spent several days there, even being visited by the country’s president.

Koca soon quit but was arrested and eventually banned from the game for life.

In a statement, Ankaragucu said: “We are saddened by the incident that took place this evening. We apologise to the Turkish football public and the entire sports community for the sad incident that occurred after the Çaykur Rizespor match at Eryaman Stadium.”

Even worse happened back in 2010, though, when Mersin Idman Yurdu manager Yuksel Yesilova was stabbed half a dozen times while he stood on the touchline during a second-division match.

An ambulance was called onto the pitch as he received life-saving treatment – and later on, it was revealed that it was his own brother who’d attacked him.

Five years later, a gunman opened fire on the Fenerbahce team. The driver, Ufuk Kiran, was badly injured in the attack. But he managed to drive the bus away from the danger and keep all 41 of his passengers safe.

Turkish fans also seem to enjoy setting their grounds alight.

In 2003-04, Gaziantepspor’s fans set a stand alight during a match against Fenerbahce. And Fenerbahce fans themselves did the same thing to their own stadium in 2010 after they lost to rivals Bursapor.

Back to last season, and another grim incident saw former Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi kick a fan in the head amid a pitch invasion following Fenerbahce’s victory at Trabzonspor.

It all kicked off after a late winner for the visitors. The Fenerbahce players had gathered in the centre circle to celebrate at the final whistle, only for home supporters to invade the pitch and confront them. As more and more fans flocked onto the pitch, there were violent scenes with security staff struggling to restore order.

Many Fenerbahce players fled for cover down the tunnel, but Batshuayi walked more slowly. When he spotted a fan running in his direction, the Belgian appeared to perform a spinning high kick, making contact with the thug’s head.

Former QPR player Bright Osayi-Samuel knocked one of the pitch invaders to the ground during the violence

Earlier in the season, five players were sent off after a mass brawl during the second-division match between Bursaspor and Diyarbakirspor.

The two sides came to blows during added time in a punch-up that appeared to involve virtually every player on the pitch and both benches.

Cops tried to intervene but to no avail, with one player aiming a flying drop-kick at one of his opponents.

Once things finally calmed down, two Bursaspor players and three from Diyarbakirspor were shown red cards.

For the latest breaking news and stories from around the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.