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Like here in the game between Beşiktaş and Antalyaspor, Fenerbahçe fans also threw stuffed animals onto the field in memory of the recent earthquake victims
Photo: Uncredited / dpa
At the weekend, fans of the Istanbul football clubs Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe remembered the Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims during their respective games and chanted slogans critical of the government.
This now has consequences for Fenerbahçe supporters: Upcoming opponent Kayserispor has banned Fenerbahçe fans from Saturday's game, citing a decision by the Kayseri Provincial Security Council.
The club announced.
In a statement published on Twitter, those responsible for Fenerbahçe wrote that they were "surprised" to learn of the fan exclusion.
"As a Fenerbahçe sports club, we cannot accept this decision under any circumstances," it said.
The decision only serves to punish the club.
Fenerbahçe demanded an explanation and called on the authorities to reconsider and reverse the decision.
Kayseri in Central Anatolia is considered the stronghold of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Fenerbahçe fans had previously chanted anti-government slogans at the home game against Konyaspor on Saturday evening and called on President Erdoğan's government to resign.
Fans of the first division club Beşiktaş also chanted »government, resign« on Sunday.
They sent a message to the children who they felt were left behind by the earthquake by throwing stuffed animals onto the pitch four minutes and 17 seconds after kick-off.
At 4:17 a.m. on February 6, the ground shook in Syria and Turkey.
After the earthquake catastrophe, criticism of the Erdoğan government's crisis management was raised.
The opposition also accuses the president of not having adequately prepared the country for such an earthquake and of having failed, for example, in building supervision.
The government denies these allegations.
see/dpa
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