Double knockout in lightweight contest
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 14, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe ended in a goalless draw Sunday, virtually canceling each other's Turkcell Super League title dreams. At the final moments, it was about fists and agression, probably fueled by the bitter feeling of seeing their seasons come to an early end.
Toward the end of Sunday’s derby game, it was understood that Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were slowly losing all their hopes for a Turkcell Super League title, but showing real knights’ spirit, they did not concede defeat until giving a proper fight. Too bad they took it literally and mistook the football pitch for a boxing ring.
Istanbul’s two giants renewed their rivalry Sunday evening in a clash at Ali Sami Yen Stadium, where the losing side would probably crash out of the title contention and a draw would eliminate them both. As the game was slowly heading toward a goalless draw, both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were minutes away from throwing the towel in the league, but given the greatness of two teams, they could not leave in silence. So Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray players started a fight, and what a fight it was.
With not a decent chance, let alone a goal, a low tempo and poor quality of football, the game seemed to be a waste of time for the sports fans, if it was not for the high-tension fist exchanges in the last minute. Fenerbahçe’s Uruguayan Diego Lugano head butted Galatasaray's Emre Aşık from behind, touching off a fracas that involved most players on the field. Referee Fırat Aydınus watched the brawl from afar, waiting for the fight to end, and after around five minutes he started to show his red cards. Lugano and Aşık were sent off for taking part in the initial brawl, alongside Galatasaray’s Arda Turan and Fener’s Semih Şentürk, who had a punch-up.
However, it was so big of a brawl that it was easier to pick out the ones who were not involved in the fight than to tell who was in it. Brazilian stars Roberto Carlos of Fenerbahçe and Lincoln of Galatasaray were watching the events from about 30 meters away, joking. And a couple of players left aside, everyone was involved, creating one of the most serious on-pitch events of Turkish football history.
Lugano apologized for starting the fightlater.
"Galatasaray’s number 21 [Aşık] stepped on my foot three times, and I couldn’t hold myself back and head butted him," he said. "It was not that hard of a knock, but he fell to the ground. We started the fire. If I have to apologize, then I do."
While everyone was blaming the other side, Fenerbahçe coach Luis Aragones showed some wisdom.
"We talked about needing to be cooler, but could not make it," said Aragones.
The two teams are now eight points off the top spot, virtually ending their title hopes, leaving Sivasspor and Beşiktaş alone in the race.
But both Aragones and his Lions counterpart Bülent Korkmaz seemed to be keen followers of the "It’s not over till it’s over" motto, but their players were not begging to differ, as they looked to have lost all hopes, and started the fight to relieve the bitter anger of loss.
Istanbul’s two giants renewed their rivalry Sunday evening in a clash at Ali Sami Yen Stadium, where the losing side would probably crash out of the title contention and a draw would eliminate them both. As the game was slowly heading toward a goalless draw, both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were minutes away from throwing the towel in the league, but given the greatness of two teams, they could not leave in silence. So Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray players started a fight, and what a fight it was.
With not a decent chance, let alone a goal, a low tempo and poor quality of football, the game seemed to be a waste of time for the sports fans, if it was not for the high-tension fist exchanges in the last minute. Fenerbahçe’s Uruguayan Diego Lugano head butted Galatasaray's Emre Aşık from behind, touching off a fracas that involved most players on the field. Referee Fırat Aydınus watched the brawl from afar, waiting for the fight to end, and after around five minutes he started to show his red cards. Lugano and Aşık were sent off for taking part in the initial brawl, alongside Galatasaray’s Arda Turan and Fener’s Semih Şentürk, who had a punch-up.
However, it was so big of a brawl that it was easier to pick out the ones who were not involved in the fight than to tell who was in it. Brazilian stars Roberto Carlos of Fenerbahçe and Lincoln of Galatasaray were watching the events from about 30 meters away, joking. And a couple of players left aside, everyone was involved, creating one of the most serious on-pitch events of Turkish football history.
Lugano apologized for starting the fightlater.
"Galatasaray’s number 21 [Aşık] stepped on my foot three times, and I couldn’t hold myself back and head butted him," he said. "It was not that hard of a knock, but he fell to the ground. We started the fire. If I have to apologize, then I do."
While everyone was blaming the other side, Fenerbahçe coach Luis Aragones showed some wisdom.
"We talked about needing to be cooler, but could not make it," said Aragones.
The two teams are now eight points off the top spot, virtually ending their title hopes, leaving Sivasspor and Beşiktaş alone in the race.
But both Aragones and his Lions counterpart Bülent Korkmaz seemed to be keen followers of the "It’s not over till it’s over" motto, but their players were not begging to differ, as they looked to have lost all hopes, and started the fight to relieve the bitter anger of loss.