The quickest cup final win ever
Galatasaray won the Turkish Super Cup final after just a minute as Fenerbahce fielded their U19s and walked off in protest.
The two arch-rivals were taking each other on at the Sanliurfa 11 Nisan Stadium on Sunday, but Fenerbahce fielded a team made entirely of youth players.
This was in protest against the Turkish FA’s refusal to reschedule the game, with Fenerbahce playing Greek side Olympiakos in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
The Istanbul side had asked for the final to be postponed so that they had more time to prepare for the European clash.
Along with this, Fenerbahce were angry with the federation’s handling of a pitch invasion last month which had seen their players attacked by Trabzonspor fans.
They had also called for a foreign referee to take charge of the game, citing unfavourable treatment from Turkish referees.
When Mauro Icardi put Galatasaray ahead after just 50 seconds, the Fenerbahce players walked off and the game was eventually abandoned, meaning that Gala were crowned champions.
After celebrating with their fans, the starting XI played against their reserve side so that those in the stadium still had some football to watch.
This is the second major fallout Fenerbahce have had with Turkish football authorities. On March 17, Fenerbahce players were attacked by Trabzonspor fans after they stormed the pitch at the end of a league game between the two sides.
The Turkish Football Federation sanctioned two Fenerbahce players with one-match bans following the scenes.
After the Turkish Super Cup final, Fenerbahce president Ali Koc gave a news conference at which he said: “It is time for Turkish football to be reset.”
In a statement, the club said they took to the field “not to win but to defend the truth”, adding they will “continue to stand tall”.
Last month, Fenerbahce threatened to leave the Turkish Super Lig due to “unfair treatment by the Turkish authorities and government,” but their members ended up voting against this.
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