Football
Osayi-Samuel, two Fenerbahce players to face panel over brawl with pitch invader
Nigerian international Bright Osayi-Samuel is one of three Fenerbahce players who will face a disciplinary hearing before the Turkish Football Federation following a spat with Trabzonspor fans, the TFF confirmed on Monday.
After the final whistle of Fenerbahce’s 3-2 victory over Trabzonspor in the Super Lig on March 17, home fans invaded the pitch at Trabzonspor Stadium.
The attacks occurred after the Fenerbahce players and coaches celebrated their victory, with keeper Dominik Livakovic getting hit in the face.
Osayi-Samuel, 26, hit one of the supporters who ran onto the ground with his face covered, while Dutch defender Jayden Oosterwolde is accused of kicking the same person.
According to the TFF, a third player, as well as two club workers, will face the disciplinary body for “fighting.”
Trabzonspor’s assistant coach will also go before the disciplinary board. FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the violence as “absolutely unacceptable.”.
No fewer than thirteen Trabzonspor supporters were arrested, with five placed in pre-trial detention.
It was the most recent violent event to affect Turkish football this season.
The title was delayed for a week earlier this season after the president of Ankaragucu punched a referee at the end of a first-division match.
Several Fenerbahce outings to Trabzon have recently been disrupted by violence. A 2016 game against Trabzonspor was called off in the last minutes when an assistant referee was attacked by a home supporter.
The previous year, a gunman attacked the Fenerbahce team bus on its way to the airport from the adjacent Black Sea city of Rize, gravely injuring the driver.
Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce’s 2014 match was called off at halftime after home fans battered the Istanbul club’s players with objects thrown onto the pitch.
Trabzonspor, who won the Turkish title two years ago, also made headlines in 2015 when the club president held the referee and his helpers inside the stadium overnight in protest at the decision not to give his team a penalty.
They were eventually liberated in the early hours of the next morning after receiving a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
