Istanbul derby abandoned after crowd trouble
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The Istanbul derby between Beşiktaş and Galatasaray was called off on Sunday after supporters invaded the pitch in the final minutes of the game at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
Galatasaray were leading 2-1 when hundreds of fans rushed on to the field after Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo was sent off in the third minute of injury time.
Both sets of players were forced to run back to the changing rooms as the crowd began to throw chairs onto the pitch.
It has been reported by Turkish media that the trouble started after simmering tensions between Beşiktaş fans and riot police inside the stadium.
The match was the first derby of the season and follows months of civil unrest in Turkey's largest city.
"Those incidents were extremely upsetting and ugly," Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told reporters in Istanbul.
"Radical measures should be taken to prevent such an incident happening again.
"It seems that 3,000 to 5,000 people had been prepared to stage such a provocative action, and infiltrated inside the stadium or they were allowed to enter the stadium unchallenged."
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| Beşiktaş fans throw chairs and run onto the pitch during a match against Galatasaray Photo: Reuters |
Galatasaray were leading 2-1 when hundreds of fans rushed on to the field after Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo was sent off in the third minute of injury time.
Both sets of players were forced to run back to the changing rooms as the crowd began to throw chairs onto the pitch.
It has been reported by Turkish media that the trouble started after simmering tensions between Beşiktaş fans and riot police inside the stadium.
The match was the first derby of the season and follows months of civil unrest in Turkey's largest city.
"Those incidents were extremely upsetting and ugly," Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told reporters in Istanbul.
"Radical measures should be taken to prevent such an incident happening again.
"It seems that 3,000 to 5,000 people had been prepared to stage such a provocative action, and infiltrated inside the stadium or they were allowed to enter the stadium unchallenged."
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