Fenerbahce forfeits Super Cup final in protest
Fenerbahce walked off the pitch and forfeited its Super Cup final with Galatasaray in a stunning protest against the Turkish Football Federation.
The club fielded a starting line-up entirely of youth team players for the final against its arch rival, with its first-team stars training back in Istanbul ahead of a UEFA Europa Conference League tie at Olympiacos.
However, only one minute and 41 seconds was played at Sanliurfa GAP Stadium when the Fenerbahce players left the field shortly after Mauro Icardi’s strike with 50 seconds on the clock.
Galatasaray celebrated wildly with its fans after victory was confirmed, while its opponent did not even acknowledge that the final took place on its social media channels.
In a statement released on the club’s official website, Fenerbahce president Yildirim Ali Koc said: “Our rebellion today, our stance in the Super Cup, is not only about the date of the match or what happened in the last away match.
“It is time for a ‘reset’ for Turkish football. We are in a period when the swamp must be drained and Turkish football must rebuild itself. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
“I hope that the justified rebellions of our club and the actions we decided to take out of necessity will ignite the cleansing process that needs to be done.
“This is the time when impartiality, fair competition and sporting ethics must come to the fore.”
Fenerbahce previously announced its intentions to field a team of academy players for the final because of its grievances against Turkish football's governing body.
Fenerbahce players were attacked by Trabzonspor fans after a 3-2 away victory on 17 March, which resulted in the Super Lig club receiving a six-match spectator ban and a fine of £74,105.
Trabzonspor appealed against the sanctions following the incident, where 12 people arrested, and were earlier this week reduced to a stadium ban of four games and $142,400 fine.
As a result, Fenerbahce held an extraordinary general meeting with its members where it agreed to request for the Super Cup final to be rearranged once again with a foreign referee, a request that was rejected by TFF.
The final was originally slated for 30 December last year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but was postponed after both teams planned to wear t-shirts of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the original founder of Turkey, in the build-up.
The members voted for the club not to participate in the Turkish Cup for the next two seasons, unless fielding an academy line-up, while also calling for action from FIFA and UEFA against the governing body.