Istanbul derby games between Fenerbahce and Besiktas have been heated affairs over the past few years.
Where do we start? there was Dusko Tosic headbutting Robin van Persie. The Dutch striker goading his former Arsenal teammate Oguzhan Ozyakup. More red cards than we can remember. Fernandao almost inciting a riot. We could go on and on but what happened tonight was completely unbelievable.
Turkish-Football reported that several scouts those from Wolves and Liverpool were present at the game keeping tabs on Anderson Talisca.
Wolves and the Reds have been closely linked with the Brazil international but the scouts present at the game got a lot more than they were bargaining for.
The derby had to be abandoned after Besiktas manager Senol Gunes suffered a head injury from an object hurled from the stands.
Fenerbahce were leading on away goals and had a man advantage after Pepe was sent off for a double-footed lunge on Josef de Souza in the first-half.
There were signs that tensions were rising after the game was stopped due to Fenerbache fans throwing coins at Ricardo Quaresma while he was trying to take a corner.
The match was halted again for the exact same reason.
It all kicked off soon after half-time when a dispute broke out between Besiktas substitute goalkeeper Tolga Zengin and several Fenerbahce fans.
Gunes tried to split it up ended up but ended up being struck on the head by a foreign object from the Fenerbahce stand before collapsing on the floor.
The Besiktas boss was seen holding his head in agony before being escorted down the tunnel.
The match officials abandoned play soon after Gunes left the field but not before the Besiktas team and staff clashed with Fenerbahce.
Gunes required five stitches to be applied in the dressing room before being taken to hospital.
Dr. Yunus Aydın revealed the head coach will be kept in hospital overnight after suffering a mild concussion.
Şenol Güneş had a foreign object thrown at his head before collapsing on the floor! Beşiktaş have walked off. The derby has been abandoned pic.twitter.com/0vEoOJ4Zwy
— Turkish Football (@Turkish_Futbol1) April 19, 2018
Aydin said: “Senol Gunes has undergone scans, he does not have any lasting damage. He was struck by an object and had mild concussion. We will keep him overnight just to be sure and probably discharge him in the morning.”
Beşiktaş manager Şenol Güneş being taken to hospital after being struck by an object thrown from the stands pic.twitter.com/dM2lGtixfe
— Turkish Football (@Turkish_Futbol1) April 19, 2018
At least 15 Fenerbahce fans have been arrested following the incidents.
Following the events Besiktas President Fikret Orman voiced his dismay at the situation, “It is a sad day for Turkish football. Derbies in our league tend to be tense however, we have never experienced an incident like this.
“We have had intense derbies played at our stadium but nothing like this has occurred. We came to the stadium as guests, this is a total failure of security.”
The Turkish Football Federation will make a decision on whether the game will be replayed or if an automatic 3-0 victory will be handed to Besiktas.
