Istanbulspor, a Turkish team, left the field in what seemed to be a protest against a referee’s call during their Super Lig match against Trabzonspor on Tuesday.
The event occurred when the Turkish top league resumed play after a one-week pause due to a club president physically assaulting a referee at the end of a match.
Trabzonspor took the lead 2-1 with a goal from Paul Onuachu, but Istanbulspor, currently at the bottom of the standings, believed they should have received a penalty after a collision between Florian Loshaj and Batista Mendy.
The chairman of Istanbulspor, Ecmel Faik Sarialioglu, went onto the field and directed the team to leave, causing the game to come to a halt in the 73rd minute. Some of the home players seemed hesitant to comply with this instruction. As a result, the match was ultimately called off.
“The Trabzonspor coach, Abdullah Avci, expressed his disappointment for football on this day. When asked about the possibility of a rematch or accepting the current result, Avci stated that they will defer to the decision of the football federation.”
The event occurred on the first day of match resumption and will be a major source of shame for the Turkish football authorities. The league had been put on hold following an incident where the president of Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, physically assaulted referee Halil Umut Meler after his team’s 1-1 tie with Caykur Rizespor.
The Turkish Football Federation issued a lifelong prohibition on Koca, who was apprehended the day after the game. The TFF committee also imposed a penalty of £54,000 on the club and declared that Ankaragucu will have to play five home matches without spectators due to the disturbance, during which a group of fans had also stormed the field.
Krzysztof Piatek scored two penalty goals for Istanbul Basaksehir in a 3-1 victory over Sivasspor at their home stadium, helping them move up from the bottom of the standings. Adana Demirspor made a comeback and secured a 2-2 draw against Gaziantep, increasing their chances of qualifying for European competitions.
Source: theguardian.com
