Horrible scenes in Turkey as an angry Trabzonspor fan attacks the assistant referee yesterday
(via @ibrahimozden06)pic.twitter.com/FSqyNDsk1y— BoyleSports (@BoyleSports) April 25, 2016
With his team down 4-0 to Fenerbahce and just a bit of injury time left to play, a Trabzonspor fan decided to invade the pitch and attack an assistant referee. Because clearly an assistant referee was the true puppet master behind Trabzonspor’s horrible performance.
The match was abandoned and all participants retreated to the tunnel. Fenerbahce will likely be awarded three points since the home fans forced the abandonment and, well, because they had basically already won the match.
The fact that this was a Trabzonspor fan who did this is particularly notable, however. You might remember back in February when Trabzonspor player Salih Dursun showed a referee the red card after three of his teammates were sent off in a match against Galatasaray. This act of defiance earned him a sending off, as well, but it also sparked a protest movement amongst Trabzonspor fans, who carried red cards of their own through the streets to express their discontent with how referees have treated their team this season.
So it stands to reason that Sunday’s attack was about more than just the Fenerbahce match and the result of growing anti-ref sentiment in and around the club.