Galatasaray celebrated the quickest cup final victory on record on Sunday when they were awarded the Super Cup in Turkey after only one minute of action. Rivals Fenerbahce were protesting the timing and location of the final and fielded their under-19 team in protest. This then escalated with the entire Fenerbace team walking off the pitch a minute after kick-off once Mauro Icardi had scored for Galatasaray, timed at 50 seconds.
The match was then declared abandoned and Galatasaray the champions. This was the latest stage of a long running dispute between Fenerbahce and the Turkish Football Federation. Only days before Fenebace called for a membership to vote on leaving the Super Lig, although Fenerbace members opted against that drastic course of action.
This arose from events which caused fury at the club. Three players and two staff members had been cited by the Turkish FA for reacting to Trabzonspor fans who were attacking them, following a pitch invasion by Trabzonspor fans in a recent league fixture.
The Super Cup itself was rescheduled from December to now after Saudi Arabia, where the match had been scheduled, decided not to allow pre-match warm-up t-shirts featuring a picture of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Football in Turkey is often intertwined with politics, with Fenerbace’s supporters being aligned with the secular policies of Ataturk and considered hostile by supporters of other clubs more associated with the current policies of President Erdogan.
Fenerbahce were also reportedly displeased that this new date was not altered as they prepare for a Europa Conference League clash against Olympiacos in midweek, and therefore opted to field effectively a youth side for this clash.
