Why did Fenerbahce forfeit Galatasaray Turkish cup final after one minute?

Turkish football has once again served up another storm as Fenerbahce conceded the Turkish Super Cup Final to fierce rivals Galatasaray after just one minute of action.

Fenerbahce fielded their under-19 side which was led by assistant manager Zeki Murat Gole.

Galatasaray kicked the game off and striker Mauro Icardi netted after 50 seconds with the Fenerbahce players then walking off the pitch to a chorus of boos from fans.

But why?

Why Fenerbahce forfeited Galatasaray Turkish cup final in one minuteATV

It's reported the final was initially scheduled to be played in August 2023 before being rescheduled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2023.

However this was called off due to the host nation not approving of planned honouring of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of Turkey.

It was rescheduled again for April 7 in Sanliurfa but according to reports, Fenerbahce protested this heavily because of a Europa Conference League quarter-final clash.

Sanliurfa is more than 500 miles away from Fenerbahce's base of Istanbul and Galatasaray are not in European competition at present.

The club asked if the match could be rearranged again to a different date and foreign officials to be used to referee the game but both were denied by the Turkish Football Federation.

That led to Fenerbahce protesting in the way they did - it's understood fans were even told to not travel to the game.

So it wasn't a waste for their fans, Galatasaray celebrated their cup win with them and then the starting 11 played against the reserves.

Meanwhile it's reported Fenerbahce have requested not to compete in the Turkish Super Cup for the next two seasons.

In a statement, Fenerbahce president Yildirim Ali Koc said: "Our rebellion today, our stance in the Super Cup, is not only about the date of the match or what happened in the last away match.

“It is time for a 'reset' for Turkish football. We are in a period when the swamp must be drained and Turkish football must rebuild itself. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.

"I hope that the justified rebellions of our club and the actions we decided to take out of necessity will ignite the cleansing process that needs to be done.

"This is the time when impartiality, fair competition and sporting ethics must come to the fore."

It comes after Fenerbahce are said to have recently threatened to withdraw from the Turkish Super Lig after Trabzonspor fans invaded the pitch and attacked their players on March 17.

Trabzonspor's punishment for that was reduced to a four-game fan ban and £11,000 fine, down from six games and a £74,000 fine.

That led to Fenerbahce members meeting to agree to call for the Super Cup Final to be rescheduled again.

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