They went on to lose to the Ukrainian team in Wednesday night’s Champions League qualifying round
Fenerbahce fans are being condemned online after footage of them chanting Vladimir Putin‘s name emerged on social media following Wednesday’s night game against Ukrainian opposition, Dynamo Kyiv.
As you can see in the video below, a large section of the crowd began chanting the Russian leader’s name after their team conceded a goal to Kyiv in the second-half of the Champions League qualifying round.
Buyalskiy celebrated by doing an eagle hand gesture, a clear nod to Fenerbahçe arch-rival Beşiktaş.
Despite the "provocative" act from the Dynamo player, the response from the Fenerbahçe fans is still completely inappropriate and frankly cheap.https://t.co/HDm7NpE4lR
— Nico Cantor (@Nicocantor1) July 27, 2022
In the second clip included in the thread, you can see the moment midfielder Vitaliy Buyalskyi, a former Beşiktaş player and Fenerbahce’s historic rivals, scores the first goal and equaliser across the two legs, before pulling out an eagle-handed gesture.
The reaction on social media
While some have described the celebration as “provocative”, it does not excuse the behaviour from the Russian crowd which has been labelled everything from “inappropriate” and an “embarrassment” to “a disgrace” and flat out “racist”.
https://twitter.com/petekdokuback/status/1552367502537138184?s=20&t=qcMA8vqd8iX9FbZoCTjidQ
https://twitter.com/gencvalerien/status/1552390745528713218?s=20&t=qcMA8vqd8iX9FbZoCTjidQ
Fenerbahce fans chanting Vladimir Putin's name during game with Dynamo Kyiv and then losing match and being eliminated from Champions League feels very on brand for Fenerbahce right now. Has been shambolic on and off field in recent times.
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) July 28, 2022
Ukrainian officials have also responded to the fans’ conduct, with ambassador Vasyl Bodnar describing the incident as one that left him deeply “saddened”.
Speaking in a lengthy post on Facebook, he went on to say: “We will never understand the words of support for the Russian killer and aggressor who deliberately kills Ukrainians and destroys our country. Even football, which is so loved in Turkey, has its limits.”
Football fans around the world took at least some pleasure in seeing the Ukrainian club go on to score a stoppage-time winner, as well as knocking their opponents out of Champions League qualification in the 114th minute.
And then they got yeeted out of the champions league in the 114th minute. Top tier karma. https://t.co/nll93B8Foc
— Rory Flanagan (@Rory_Flanagan) July 28, 2022
Ukrainian football’s response
Neither club is yet to have issued a formal statement following the match but Dynamo’s head coach, Mircea Lucescu, told reporters after the game that sport “cannot accept the behaviour of the fans” and admitted it was unexpected.
He later refused to attend the post-match news conference in protest and the president of Ukraine’s FA, Andriy Pavelko, said that holding competitions and their attendees accountable “is about demonstrating the fearlessness of our people, the indomitable spirit and desire for inevitable victory.”
He concluded by declaring: “This is a unique initiative in world history: football against war in conditions of war, football for the sake of peace.”
Related links:
- Emmanuel Adebayor slammed for Vladimir Putin comments in now-deleted Instagram post
- Atletico Madrid ultras release statement telling club not to sign Cristiano Ronaldo
- Rugby coach issues an apology after players refuse to wear pride jersey
