Alexander Djiku Speaks Out to French Press on Trabzon Incidents
Alexander Djiku, Fenerbahçe's Ghanaian player said, "Every player celebrates in every stadium, that's how it is. However, one fan lost control, and it led to other fans coming in. Unfortunately, then the incidents in the footage happened."
Fenerbahçe’s Ghanaian defender Alexander Djiku made statements to the French press.
Describing what happened in the match they played against Trabzonspor, Djiku said, “Actually, the match started like any other match. The stands threw a few water bottles, but the referee let the match continue. The second half was tougher. Flares and some objects were thrown onto the field. The referee tried to calm the stands down. They made announcements in the stadium for the stands to calm down, but unfortunately, this didn’t happen. Then the incidents happened after the match. They had told me that Trabzonspor – Fenerbahçe matches had been tense since 2011, but such serious incidents had never happened before. These kinds of things don’t only happen in Turkey; there are many examples. Fans should understand that football is just a game. However, we knew there was such rivalry among the fans. There may be some minor incidents at the beginning of matches in many leagues, but it was a bit more threatening for it to continue until the end of the match. At the end of the match, while we were celebrating the victory, a single fan entered the field clearly to fight with us, and a few seconds later things escalated. We saw that the situation had become more serious and headed towards the dressing room.”
“THE REFEREE DIDN’T WANT TO ABANDON THE MATCH”
Djiku, stating that the referee of the match, Halil Umut Meler, didn’t want to abandon the match, said, “The game stopped for 1-2 minutes after a foreign object was thrown at our goalkeeper. I think the match could have ended at that moment, but the referee didn’t want to abandon the match with 10 minutes left in the match. Our match schedule is quite busy, and maybe a new solution couldn’t have been found for this match in a short time. We are in the championship race with Galatasaray in the league. Perhaps because of all these factors, he wanted us to complete the match, but unfortunately, what happened after the match was very sad. Trabzonspor had defeated us at home. That match was the only defeat we had in the league this season. They celebrated at the end of the match in our stadium, and there were no problems. Every player celebrates in every stadium; that’s how it is. However, one fan lost control, and it led to other fans coming in, and then unfortunately, the incidents in the footage happened.”
“FANS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT FOOTBALL IS JUST A SPORT”
The Ghanaian footballer, stating that such incidents do not only happen in Turkey, said, “There is the Marseille vs. Lyon match; we know what Dimitri Payet went through. There is the Nice vs. Nantes match as an example in front of us; a fan lost their life. There are many incidents in sports; fans should understand that football is just a sport. In the end, there is a winner and a loser, and we shouldn’t behave like this. To prevent such incidents, it is necessary to warn the stands more.”
“WE HAVE 8 FINAL MATCHES”
Djiku, saying that they will play 8 final matches, said, “We call them 8 finals. We know that if we win 8 matches, we will be champions. We have the Super Cup match against Galatasaray, and we have matches against Olympiacos in the Conference League. We haven’t been champions in the league for a long time… they are all serious goals for us. We will focus on football and do our best for our fans,” concluding his words.
