Eventually Galatasaray Can Lift the Cup © Reuters Images

I am proud to say that in our household we support Galatasaray who had a an amazing season finishing 9 points ahead at the end of the league going on into the playoffs to win the Championship after a gruelling and nerve racking playoff taking it right down to the last game against their arch rivals Fenerbahçe.

The game last night was nail biting not for the amount of goals scored but more from the lack of goals, Galatasaray needed the draw or win. 90 minutes finished both teams down to ten men and a each with a pack full of yellow cards, Fenerbahçe had the edge and played the last 5 minutes extra time in Galatasaray’s penalty box.  We sat with our hearts in our mouths as we prayed Galatasaray wouldn’t concede a last minute goal.

Thankful our prayers were answered and those of millions of others. Galatasaray won the Super Ligi Cup the first time since 2008 with Faith Terim at the helm.  They had a fantastic season and well deserved to lift the cup.

The players as you can expect played the game in a state of high tension and one or two fights amongst the players occurred one involving both dug outs and officials.  But you wouldn’t expect anything less from the Turkish league.

The game was played only to the Fenerbahçe’s fans at their home ground due to the Galatasaray fans being banned after their poor behaviour during the previous game again Fenerbahçe.

The Galatasaray players celebrate after the whistle

When the whistle blew instead of Galatasaray being able to claim the cup and celebrate their win the Fenerbahçe fans decided to riot destroying their own stadium and ruining the fantastic season for everyone.

The sad part being is they then continued into the streets destroying things in their path over turning police cars and firing off guns.  This wasn’t just at the end but at the start where both sets of fans clashed and people were injured.

This sort behaviour ruins football for everyone, football is something that is meant for the family and friends to enjoy.  I don’t feel I could take my son to a game for fear of something similar happening, I certainly wouldn’t have felt safe in Istanbul last night.

Galatasaray didn’t get to lift the cup at the end of the game for everyone to see, instead it happened late at night after insisting it be lifted on the pitch and not in the changing rooms as suggested.  It took a phone call to the prime minister for the decision to be made to allow Galatasaray the honour of lifting the cup on the pitch.

The aftermath in the Stadium

For me it was a disappointing end to the season the way both sets of fans behaved the way the authorities were not prepared to control the fans in the stadium and outside.   The Turkish league is a fantastic league with lots of drama and action.  But the way the fans behave leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.  I only hope after the match fixing scandal and lack of crowd control that next year the Turkish Football Federation, The Clubs and the Fans make a huge effort to clean up Turkish football and help Turkey secure the 2020 European Championship.

Who do you support?  What are your thoughts on the game and the behaviour of the fans? I would love to hear your thoughts.

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