VIDEO: Turkish soccer fans stage riot in protest for team president
A. Isaac Fans wearing t-shirts and masks raided the pitch in a Turkish Fooball Federation friendly between Fenerbahce and Ukranian FC Shakhtar. At issue is the arrest and imprisonment of team officials who apparently are involved in a match fixing scandal. One of the people arrested, Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim, is widely regarded as one of the richest and most powerful men in Turkey.
Turkish authorities have charged and jailed about 30 suspects, including Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim. They are also looking into suspicious movement in the shares of Fenerbahce and some other clubs on the Istanbul stock market last season, a senior finance official said Friday.
The probe involving 19 games has severely shaken Turkish soccer and fueled the fury of hundreds of Fenerbahce fans who invaded the field during a friendly against Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday night, forcing the abandonment of the game.
So yea, next time you want to complain about the NFL and NBA lockout, just be thankful your team doesn’t fix games and that your team president isn’t rotting in a jail cell. Although, as a Detroit Lions fan, I would have welcomed throwing Matt Millen in the slammer years ago.
Turkey federation deepens investigation into match-fixing, may postpone start of season [Washington Post]
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