It did not take 20 minutes for the derby between Altay and Göztepe to descend into total chaos.
Scenes of rare violence punctuated this historic derby in the city of İzmir, Turkey, which was played this Sunday at the Gürsel Aksel Stadyumu, the Göztepe stadium.
The images quickly began circulating on social media.
We see the stands stained with blood, a supporter with a bloody face taken care of by an ambulance on the lawn, and the goalkeeper of Altay, Ozan Evrim Özenç, violently attacked by a spectator who burst onto the lawn with heavy blows. ... corner post.
WATCH: #BNNTurkey Reports
The football match between Göztepe (@Goztepe) and Altay (@AltaySporKulubu) was interrupted after a fan attacked Altay goalkeeper Ozan Evrim Özenç with a stick.
pic.twitter.com/2lm3pBdCWz
— Gurbaksh Singh Chahal (@gchahal) November 27, 2022
According to several testimonies from Internet users on site and the Turkish media, the match was first interrupted to take care of Göztepe supporters who were seriously injured after being targeted by rocket fire from the visitors' stand.
Two ambulances then entered the lawn to take care of at least one man, hit in the face.
It was during this stoppage of play, when he was close to the ambulances, that the Altay goalkeeper was brutally attacked by a spectator who entered the lawn, grabbed the corner post and hit the player twice, including once at the head, before being immobilized.
According to Turkish media, the player also had to be taken care of by an ambulance, and his attacker placed in police custody.
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