The Intercontinental derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce is always a lively affair and the latest edition was marred by some terrible scenes after the full-time whistle had been blown on a 2-2 draw on Friday night.
Not content with going toe-to-toe for 96 minutes, players on the field sparked a brawl that ended with subs and staff from both sides flooding onto the field to get involved.
Three players were red carded after the final whistle, with the hosts Galatasaray's Badou Ndiaye and visitors Fenerbahce’s duo of Jailson & Roberto Soldado being deemed to be the guilty parties.
Picture circulated widely on social media showed fans clashing with stewards in the stands, too, as tensions between fans of the old rivals got out of control.
Elsewhere in the world of raucous footballing atmospheres, Liverpool travel to Red Stad Belgrade’s famous Rajko Mitić Stadium for a Champions League tie and face a daunting task trying to calm the home fans.
The tunnel that will lead them up from the bowels of the historic ground looks terrifying in and of itself, with old concrete walls smeared with red paint that rattle from the movement of the crowd above them.
Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have taken the measure of leaving their forward Xherdan Shaqiri at home ahead of this tie due to the potential for difficulties related to his status as a Kosovar of Albanian heritage.
“We are Liverpool FC, a big club, a football team,” said the German coach yesterday. “We don't have any message further than that. We have no political message, absolutely not.”
