Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray: Why Turkish Super Cup Final Was Abandoned After Two Minutes

• Galatasaray won the Turkish Super Cup despite playing just two minutes
• Fenerbahce fielded their U19 team to protest against Turkish authorities
• The champions played against their reserve team to entertain supporters

The Turkish Super Cup final was chaotic and looked destined for doom from the start, and it lived up to that billing when it was finally held on April 7 after several setbacks.

Galatasaray were crowned champions despite two minutes of football against bitter rivals, Fenerbahce, who obviously did not come to play, as evident in their actions leading up to the match.

Per Mirror UK, the match was initially scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia on December 23, 2023. However, it was postponed after Saudi authorities refused requests to honour Turkish founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

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The game was then rescheduled to be held in Sanliurfa, but the Yellow Canaries tried to force a second postponement, which was denied by the Turkish FF, leading to dramatic scenes yesterday.

Mauro Icardi put Gala ahead within 48 seconds against their rivals, who fielded their U19 side. The team then walked off the pitch, and the Super Lig champions were awarded a walkover.

The Lions won the Super Cup and played a match against their reserves to give the fans who travelled their money's worth, but it was no less of a ridiculous incident.

Why Turkish Super Cup was abandoned

Fenerbahce has been fighting the Turkish football authorities for weeks now, and yesterday's game was an opportunity to show the world what was brewing.

Per Goal Turkiye, Fener requested a postponement as they wanted to avoid going into an intense match days before their UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final against Greek side, Olympiacos, on Thursday.

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They also requested that foreign officials take charge of the match, but the football federation rejected both requests, leading to the drama witnessed yesterday.

The initial plan was reportedly for three players to pretend to be injured in the opening minutes, and despite nine players starting the match, the Yellow Navy Blues walked off the pitch entirely.

Fenerbahce fans vote against Super Lig exit

Per The Athletic, the club's president, Ali Koc, moved that the club reconsider its place in the Super Lig, but the fans voted against the decision.

"Since the beginning of the century, a string of bizarre, unjust and unacceptable events, on and off the field, have led us to rethink our position in Turkey’s football environment," Koc said.

A series of so-called unjust events against the club fuelled the move. It was heightened after Trabzonspor fans attacked Fener players after the home team lost 3-2 last month.

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Galatasaray are top of the league, two points above Fenerbahce, with seven games left for the season. More drama could unfold when the two teams meet on May 19 at the RAMS Park.

Fenerbahce fans honour Osayi-Samuel

Sports Brief also reported on Fenerbahce fans honouring Bright Osayi-Samuel with a mural after the Nigerian took down a Trabzonspor fan during last month's pitch invasion.

The 23-year-old defender delivered a knockout to one of the fans who invaded the pitch to seemingly attack Canaries players, an event which remains under investigation in Turkey.