ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Fans of Bursaspor football team shouted anti-Kurdish slogans and chants ahead of their team’s bout with Diyarbakir-based Amedspor on Sunday, with personnel and players of both teams also engaging in physical altercations before and after the match.
Videos on social media showed Bursaspor fans throwing knives, bullets, and water bottles onto the pitch before the match began, while chanting racist slogans against Kurds.
The Instagram account of Amedspor went live, showing the moment Bursaspor’s players stormed the pitch before the game, starting a fight with their opponents. The account later posted footage of the brawl, calling the incident an “attack” on their team by the Bursaspor players.
Bursa'da futbol ekibimizin sahaya çıktığı sırada Bursaspor oyuncuları tarafından ekibimize yapılan saldırı ve saha olayları... #Amedspor 💚❤
— Amedspor Kulübü (@amedskofficial) March 5, 2023
https://t.co/UTh8B23wbQ pic.twitter.com/Oro7bk62VS
Despite the violence, the match went ahead as scheduled, with Bursaspor coming out with a 2-1 win.
The altercations would reportedly continue even after the match was over, with Amedspor social media accounts accusing Bursaspor “private security supervisor, club security officer, club staff, and police officers” of physically attacking the Amedspor players in the dressing room corridors.
Maç sonunda soyunma odası koridorlarında Bursaspor Özel Güvenlik Amiri, Kulüp Güvenlik Sorumlusu, kulüp personelleri ve emniyet görevlileri tarafından futbolcularımıza fiziki saldırı gerçekleşti.
— Amedspor Kulübü (@amedskofficial) March 5, 2023
Saldırı anlarından kayıt alınabilen görüntüler. pic.twitter.com/BBeGqwQEuK
The Turkish Football Federation is yet to comment on the situation.
On Saturday night, Bursaspor fans took to the street of the hotel where Amedspor players were staying, shouting racist anti-Kurdish chants and throwing fireworks.
Amedspor has been subjected to several controversies in Turkey for the past few years after it changed its name to reflect the Kurdish name of the city of Diyarbakir, Amed.
The team often faces nationalist and anti-Kurdish chants during their away games, leading to violence.
Amedspor fans threw objects onto the pitch during a match with Bursaspor and chanted pro-Kurdish chants, sparking comments by social media users to claim that Sunday’s incident may have been in retaliation.
In 2017, Amedspor players were attacked by nationalist fans of 1922 Konyaspor after defeating the former in an away match.
In 2016, Amedspor’s player Deniz Naki was banned for 12 games and fined 19,500 Turkish Liras (then around $5000) for “ideological propaganda” after posting a victory message on Facebook.
In September, five people were arrested for raising the Kurdistan flag during an Amedspor game, though they were later released.
The Turkish government often associates Kurdish symbols like the Kurdistan flag to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), arresting those waving it undre terror charges.
By Azhi Rasul
