Besiktas boycotted Thursday’s Turkish Cup semi-final second-leg clash against rivals Fenerbahce.
The reigning Super Lig champions refused to participate in the rescheduled game which was abandoned last week after an incident that resulted in head coach Senol Gunes being taken to hospital.
The score was 2-2 on aggregate when the referee was forced to abandon the game on April 19 in the 57th minute.
Besiktas defender Pepe was shown a direct red card after a lunging two-footed tackle on Fenerbahce midfielder Josef de Souza.
That was just the beginning of the madness.
Ricardo Quaresma was pelted with foreign objects thrown from the crowd not once but twice while trying to take a corner.
The game was briefly stopped twice as a result.
It all boiled over in the 57th minute when an argument broke out between Besiktas substitute goalkeeper Tolga Zengin and several Fenerbahce fans.
Gunes tried to intervene but ended up crashing to the floor after being struck on the head by an object thrown from the stands.
The former Turkey national team manager ended up receiving five stitches to the head, suffering a mild concussion and spending the night in hospital.
The Turkish Football Federation ruled that the game will be continued behind closed doors from the exact time when it was stopped.
The decision outraged Besiktas who made it clear they felt they should have been awarded an automatic victory.
In a statement released on Besiktas’ official website account last week, the Black Eagles confirmed they would boycott the rescheduled game.
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“Even though millions clearly saw that Besiktas were the only victims, the Turkish Football Federation ruled that our Turkish Cup semi-final second leg against Fenerbahce should continue from where it was abandoned,” it read.
“As a club who adhere to fair-play at all times, Beşiktaş JK have decided not to take part in the said Cup game, scheduled for Thursday, 3 May 2018.
“We believe that this will be the most dignified stand for Besiktas supporters to have their voices heard.”
In the bizarre scenes that unfolded Fenerbahce ended up taking to the pitch, alone, on Thursday evening. Besiktas forfeited the game, Fenerbahce were declared 3-0 winners by referee Mete Kalkavan.
Meanwhile, Besiktas were busy training for their weekend league game against Kayserispor.
The Istanbul giants have been banned from next season’s domestic cup competition and have been ordered to pay back the 4 million Turkish Lira — £698,820 — they earned from the competition this year.
Fenerbahce will face Akhisar in the Turkish Cup Final which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 9.
