Mehmet Büyükekşi, the president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), was ejected from the Tupras stadium by home fans before the first half of the UEFA Conference League game between Besiktas and Swiss Lugano in Istanbul.
According to Worldfootball.com, before the game began, Besiktas management was the target of fan protests demanding their immediate dismissal.
The Turkish Football Federation and Besiktas have had a very tense relationship over the past year, but this was not the first occasion Besiktas supporters have called for the TFF president’s resignation.
After the incident, Büyükekşi said: “I am really sorry. As TFF management, we try to go to the European matches of all our teams. We also came to Besiktas’s match. During the matches organized for the earthquake victims, Mr. Çebi told us, ‘You don’t come to our matches.’ We made a return visit. But we encountered an environment we did not expect. Everyone does what suits them. If what happened was isolated, I would have stayed. But it was an organized event. Mr. Minister also expressed his sadness. We got his approval and left the match.”
The game ended with a shocking defeat for Besiktas. Despite having a two-goal advantage, the hosts lost the game 3:2 after giving up three goals in the final minutes.
After the game had ended, Besiktas supporters persisted in the stands and demanded an explanation from the team’s players and coaches. To meet the admirers, none of them, however, turned up.
Senol Gunes, the team’s coach, was observed leaving the stadium around one in the morning while Besiktas management met urgently after the game.Turkish FA President is chased from the stadium by Besiktas fans.