But the Turkish Cup continues and today there was an amazing match.
Bursaspor 1 - 2 Amedspor
Some basic background: Amedspor is the old Diyarbakirspor. Some (certainly not all (but actually most of them)) Bursa fan groups have been upping the nationalism to 200 percent in the run up to this match. Diyarbakir, of course, is the biggest Kurdish city in Turkey. I don't think I need to spell out to "Round Ball in Ankara" fans just what horrible things are happening in the Southeast at the moment. Obviously though, Amedspor fans were banned from attending today's match in Bursa.
There were the usual anti-PKK chants, various racist stuff and just general horribleness from the Bursa fans. It was a football match after all.
And then the football started. Hahahahahahhahahahahahahaha
Amedspor goes one-nil up.
Bursa fight back and pretty much control the match for a long period of time. Their fans are singing as loud as they can but nothing seems to work.
Second half.
Amed was still 1-0 up when the ball went back the Deniz Naki. He was just outside the box, he shot and there was no way the keeper was going to save it. That was the goal of his life!
Some of you may remember Deniz Naki. He used to play for Genclerbirligi. A year or so ago Deniz left the club after Gencler refused to back him up. He had been verbally attacked, possibly physically attacked, in the street in Ankara for being an Alevi. The situation was very murky but Deniz left the club right after the attack. To its disgrace, the club wanted nothing to do with him.
Today though he was as proud as anyone could be. It wasn't just a great goal, it was a goal scored with all the football gods lining up. I can only express jealousy that Deniz got to live his dream. Scoring a goal against the fascists!!!!!!
Brilliant!
Bursa got one back towards the end but it was all too late. So, Amedspor goes through to the quarterfinal. I can only wish them the best of luck.
Bursaspor coach Hamza Hamzaoglu was being a dickhead as usual in his post match remarks.
"I congratulate the opposition team players but I don't congratulate some of them. There were a lot of provocative actions," the coach said ignoring the racist chanting of the Bursaspor fans.
Anyway... Back in Diyarbakir, the fans went wild. This was one huge win. Just as happens for any big win for Galatasaray, Besiktas, Fenerbahce or Turkey, the football fans of Diyarbakir came out to celebrate. There is something wonderful in how people of Turkey celebrate big football wins - It is true joy as thousands of people crowd together in the streets to sing and dance. Everyone forgets the normal hassles of life and simply celebrates being a witness to a wonderful event. This is what makes sport so wonderful. It is what makes sport so wonderful in Turkey.
The Turkish police then sent the TOMAs in.
Yep.
Well done Dee-aye-bay-kir. Bursa are a shadow of the team which won the league a few years ago.
ReplyDeletePolice justifying their existence ???!!!
Deniz Naki wrote [on social media] after the Bursaspor match:
ReplyDelete“It was a very important victory for us today. We have come clear against this dirty game targeting us. We are proud to be a small hope of light for our people at such difficult times. As Amedspor, we have not submitted and we will not submit. Her bijî Azadî! [Long live freedom in Kurdish]”
According to this report in Hurriyet Daily News, Naki now faces an at least, one-match ban for “discrimination and ideological propaganda.”
Reading the HDN article today made me remember the attack on Naki in Ankara over one year ago, as mentioned by Oz in his post above. In 2014 Oz Kanka wrote about it in this blogpost titled: Gencler's Deniz Naki on receiving end of racist attack
Based on the pressure Amedspor faces off the pitch as described in the HDN article; I hope they will beat Fener if for that reason alone. As the article poignantly concluded: You don’t need to be Kurd or a club supporter to say, “Her bijî Amedspor.”