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27th Sep 2017

Besiktas supporters actually have the ability to roar opposition players off the pitch

That has to be a first

Darragh Murphy

This will make Besiktas fans feel very good about themselves.

On Tuesday night, Besiktas hosted RB Leipzig in the Champions League and the home supporters backed up their boisterous reputation by reportedly forcing an opposition player into requesting to be substituted.

The noise inside the Vodafone Arena is said to have become too much for Leipzig forward Timo Werner, who was captured shielding his ears from the volume before manager Ralph Hasenhuttl agreed to withdraw him after 32 minutes of the game.

The German international first attempted to remedy the issue by sticking earplugs in his ears in the hope that they would cancel out the deafening roars from the terraces but they proved futile and Werner was replaced by Lukas Klostermann shortly after the half-hour mark, citing “hearing issues.”

“It is impossible to prepare your team for an atmosphere like this. There was a deafening noise [and] at the start of the game we were a bit affected,” Hasenhuttl said after the final whistle.

“We were not good in the first 20 minutes at all. But it was a lesson for all of us. I saw who I can count on in times like these. This is a lesson for us to learn and we keep learning.”

The 12th man proved more effective than usual that evening and Besiktas maintained their 100 per cent start to the Champions League group stage with a 2-0 victory.