Trabzonspor’s UEFA Europa League campaign came to an abrupt end on Thursday night as Fatih Tekke’s side suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat against Ferencváros in the second leg of their play-off tie at Groupama Arena.
Combined with a 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Trabzon, the Black Sea Storm lost 5-0 on aggregate, resulting in their transfer to the UEFA Conference League league phase for the 2026–27 season.
Mohamed Salah started for Trabzonspor but was unable to prevent his side suffering an embarrassing defeat.
Disastrous Night in Hungary
Trabzonspor entered the match aiming to overturn the one-goal deficit from the first leg, but their game plan collapsed early.
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Early Red Card: Midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi was sent off with a straight red card in just the 13th minute, leaving Trabzonspor with 10 men for nearly the entire match.
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Breakthrough Goal: Callum O’Dowda capitalized on the numerical advantage to put Ferencváros 1-0 up in the 19th minute.
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Second-Half Downfall: Marius Corbu doubled the hosts’ lead in the 54th minute. Just three minutes later, Sidny Lopes Cabral received a second yellow card, reducing Trabzonspor to 9 men. Bamidele Yusuf converted the resulting penalty in the 59th minute.
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Late Cap: Substitute Krisztián Lisztes added a fourth goal in the 86th minute to complete a 4-0 victory for the home side.
Shift to Conference League
With their elimination from Europa League qualifying, Trabzonspor will not be joining rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe in the upper tier of European competitions this season. Instead, Trabzonspor will take their place in Friday’s draw for the expanded 36-team UEFA Conference League league phase, where they will play six different opponents as they aim for a deep run in Europe’s third-tier tournament.
