Fenerbahce fans chant ‘Vladimir Putin’ against Dynamo Kyiv FC in Istanbul
Turkish Fenerbahce FC supporters on Thursday displayed an act of poor sportsmanship against the visiting Ukrainian football club Dynamo Kiev when they cheered for Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader who invaded Ukraine in late February.
Even though the match started in a friendly atmosphere in Ulker Stadium when the visitors came onto the pitch wrapped with Ukranian flags, things changed in the second half when one of the Fenerbahce players was shown a red card and the team gave away a goal minutes after that.
After the Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Vitaliy Buyalskyi put his team 1-0 ahead in the game, he made an eagle-like hand gesture that reminded some of the Fenerbahce fans of their arch-rival Besiktas team’s sign.
That was enough for thousands of Fenerbahce fans to cheer the name of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
A deeply embarrassing moment for Fenerbahçe and Turkey as fans try to bait Dynamo Kiev players by chanting for Vladimir Putin.
— Can Okar (@canokar) July 27, 2022
Many Kiev players will have friends and family they have lost in this unforgivable war of aggression.
This is wrong.https://t.co/OiA3ClZh3B
Many people around the world protested the disgraceful act and Dynamo’s coach Mircea Lucescu refused to attend the press conference after the match.
“The only thing that I could not even allow in my thoughts was the behavior of Turkish fans. I didn’t expect such a reaction, it’s a pity,” Fanatik newspaper quoted Lucescu as saying.
An Ukrainian journalist said the act was sickeningly disgusting while many other Ukrainian fans wanted Fenerbahce banned from the tournament next year.