'Stadiums belong to people': Football fan groups back earthquake protests

Photo: AA

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Commotion erupted after fans of Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, two of the "Big Three" of Türkiye's football, chanted that government should resign during the games over the weekend.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair and coalition partner Devlet Bahçeli reacted harshly to the protests, canceling his Beşiktaş membership and accusing the fans of disrespecting "our earthquake martyrs." He further suggested that football matches should be played without spectators or with ''precautionary measures''.

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Yesterday (February 28), 16 football supporter groups, who define themselves as anti-fascist, responded to Bahçeli's remarks.

"In these tough days where our country finds itself in, we are together to heal the wounds of our earthquake survivors. We are on the side of 85 million people," the ensemble, including fan groups of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş, stated.

In their written statement, they further condemn the "ugly political calculations" and "stupid incompetence" of those who "delayed rescue efforts" and who "sell tents bought with people's taxes."

The government has been criticized for its presumed slow and inadequate response following the February 6 earthquakes. In addition, a report published on February 25 revealed that in the aftermath of the disaster, Türkiye's Red Crescent sold tents to AHBAP, a popular charity group.

The chants of Fenerbahçe fans resulted in a ban of its supporters in the away match against Kayserispor on March 4, the Kayseri Security Board announced yesterday (February 28). Fenerbahçe denounced the decision as being "unacceptable."

On February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 struck the southern city of Maraş. The first quake in the Pazarcık district at 4.17 a.m. was followed by the second one in Elbistan about nine hours later.

The quakes affected 11 provinces in Türkiye's south and southeast, as well as Syria's northern parts. The official death toll from the quakes has already surpassed over 50,000 and is expected to increase. According to government figures, over 160,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged in Türkiye alone.

Nearly two million people have been displaced due to the earthquakes.

#TribünlerHalkındır pic.twitter.com/xaHQvnDEDJ

— Sol Açık (@SolAcik1907) February 28, 2023

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