All professional soccer leagues in Turkey were suspended earlier in December after the president of Ankaragucu punched a referee in the face. Fast forward a little over a week later and another brawl has taken place at a Turkish soccer game.
The incident with the referee getting punched forced the Turkish Football Federation to suspend all leagues for one week on Dec. 11.
The suspension of play clearly didn’t work as more incidents have occurred including a fierce fight during a third-tier game.
On the second day back from the suspension players from the clubs Bursaspor and Diyarbakirspor had a massive fight.
The melee started on the field, happened in the stands and even continued down the tunnel toward the locker rooms.
Turkey soccer fight
Mass brawl in Bursaspor-Diyarbekirspor match right now!
Crazy scenes. 5 players were shown red cards in total. ( @PanenkaSport) pic.twitter.com/YLwUveADEh— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 20, 2023
Bursaspor takımı Diyarbekirspor'lu futbolcuyu soyunma odasına kadar kovaladı. pic.twitter.com/49rdP9Mslw
— BPT (@bpthaber) December 20, 2023
The two clubs have a history of violence and ethnic tensions between them, and it boiled over on Wednesday. Five players were shown red cards after the fighting simmered.
Another incident took place during a top-flight game between Trabzonspor and Istanbulspor when the president of Istanbulspor ordered his players to leave the field over the referee’s officiating.
The chairman of Turkish side #Istanbulspor just told his entire team to walk off the pitch because they didn't get a penalty decision
Match against Trabzonspor has been suspended pic.twitter.com/UivGiOlzag— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) December 19, 2023
Needless to say, things are a bit of a mess in Turkish soccer right now.
