Violent scenes marred the close of Besiktas’ win against Ankaragucu
The violent scenes unfolded in Turkey. © Twitter
Besiktas midfielder Salih Ucan was violently attacked by a fan who invaded the pitch soon after Besiktas’ 3-2 win against Ankaragucu on Sunday.
Tempers were frayed between both sets of players towards the end of the Super Lig fixture between the two rival teams, with a player from each side receiving a red card after what had been a heated contest throughout.
But one Ankaragucu supporter took the situation a little too far when he jumped over the pitchside barrier and sprinted towards the halfway line during a fracas between both sets of players where he delivered a flying kick to Ucan, who had his back turned to the pitch invader.
The supporter was immediately thrown to the ground by another player, Josef de Souza, which prompted even more tensions between both sets of players.
Sahaya giren bir taraftar, Beşiktaşlı futbolculara saldırdı.Maç Linki, Anlık goller ve pozisyonlar için takip: @GoalHubTRpic.twitter.com/ZXV0SWtIRv
— Süper Lig | Anlık goller (@Golsuperlig5) September 4, 2022
De Souza was one of two players who would receive a red card minutes later, while Ankaragucu’s Marlon Xavier would also receive his marching orders after the final whistle was blown.
The offending fan was subsequently restrained by other players, including former Everton forward Cenk Tosun, with further supporters also making their way onto the pitch.
Dutch striker Wout Weghorst, who is on loan at Besiktas from English team Burnley, was also involved in the fracas and soon left the field holding his head after apparently being struck during the chaotic scenes.
“My back was turned in the position, probably coming towards me. If Cenk had not taken a step, I would have been kicked by a fan. I could be injured,” Ucan said afterwards, via translation.
“When Josef [De Souza] saw this, he pushed the fans out. What would the captain of my team do? Was he going to say, ‘Here you go brother, you can kick’?”
Weghorst, meanwhile, added that scenes like this are completely unacceptable within football.
“It is impossible to say that these things are normal,” he said.
“There have been very wrong things. I know that Turkish people act with their feelings. I love this. This situation is unacceptable. There was a tense atmosphere from the first minute to the end of the match. There was an unfortunate incident. Someone hit Cenk.
“This should be punished severely. Turkey is a beautiful country. The league is a beautiful league. It needs to be severely punished for its further development. Unacceptable things happened. I had injured teammates. Gedson, Dele Alli. I had to shield them. Josef got a red card after that. Josef intervened to stop someone attacking his teammate.”
