February 10 – Yet another scandal has rocked Turkish football with the match between Galatasaray and Adana Demirspor abandoned in the first half after the away team’s players were ordered to leave the pitch after a penalty decision was given against them.
The decision to leave the pitch was made by Adana Demirspor management 19 minutes after the controversial penalty was awarded to Galatasaray after a clear simulation by Dries Mertens in the 11th minute.
Alvaro Morata scored to give Galatasaray a 1-0 lead.
Exactly half an hour after the start of the match, the Adana Demirspor players headed to the dressing rooms while the Galatasaray players remained on the pitch until the referee announced over the stadium loudspeakers that the match was being abandoned.
Following the events at RAMS Park Stadium, in Istanbul, Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk said the referee’s decision to award the penalty in favour of his team was incorrect.
“We didn’t expect this, but apparently, some people were waiting for it and immediately posted tweets. I don’t want to take anyone’s guilt… I congratulate Adana Demirspor’s players; they were fighting really well. The fans had a banner saying, ‘We never gave up’, said Baruk.
“In my opinion, it was more likely that it wasn’t a penalty. This is not the first mistake made against Adana Demirspor. I don’t believe this was an innocent, spontaneous decision.”
Buruk also revealed that his players wanted to continue the match, saying: “The players wanted to play, they asked, ‘What happened?’ Maybe we would have won by a different margin, maybe Adana Demirspor would have earned a point. They have very young players here, and suddenly someone calls and tells them to pull the team off the field. I don’t think what happened was innocent.”
The Turkish Football Federation is expected to rule on the case in the coming days, but Adana Demirspor can expect a minimum 3:0 forfeit of the game, though sanctions are likely to be considerably greater. Adana is currently in last place in the Turkish Super Lig with just 5 points after 21 games.
Galatasaray Sports Club Vice President Metin Öztürk described what happened as a “truly sad evening for Turkish football”.
“Something happened that we did not expect. Some people must have been expecting it because while we were trying to understand what happened, tweets started to be sent. So they must have known something. No perception, no operation will be able to divert Galatasaray from its path. We started to see tweets from the other side of the water without either Adana Demirspor President Murat Sancak or Vice President Metin Bey making a statement. So they had a plan, they were making preparations. We will see it tomorrow in all European and world media. It is truly a sad evening for Turkish football.
Hours after the incident in Istanbul,Galatasaray used their X profile to announce that no one could stop them on their way to winning their 25th title: “Together with our ith our millions of fans, we will break down all obstacles and reach our 25th championship!”
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1739204396labto1739204396ofdlr1739204396owedi1739204396sni@o1739204396fni1739204396