Fenerbahce repudiates chant some fans made during match with Ukrainian team

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish football club Fenerbahce on Saturday firmly repudiated a chant some fans used during a match with a Ukrainian team this week, saying that these actions have no connection to the team.

"The Fenerbahce Sports Club stresses that we do not accept the brief expression (chanted), and once again we clearly express that we will not let this issue be connected with our brand identity," said a statement by the Istanbul club submitted to UEFA, which has launched a probe of the incident.

During a UEFA Champions League match in Istanbul this Wednesday against Ukraine's Dynamo Kyiv, a number of the club’s fans chanted “Vladimir Putin” from the stands after the visiting team made a goal, a chant made as Ukraine is several months into Russia’s war on their country.

The Fenerbahce statement, sent to European football's governing body via the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), also said the chant does not reflect Fenerbahce’s stance on social and humanitarian issues.

It added that on April 19 the Istanbul club organized a "Football for Peace" charity match against Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk to raise awareness of the need to help people and children in war-torn Ukraine.

It emphasized that the chant from a section of the crowd took up just 20 seconds of a two-hour match (including extra time) adding that holding the club legally responsible for the incident would be unfair.

Separately, Fenerbahce said it has photos and videos of some Dynamo Kyiv players trying to provoke Turkish fans before and during the match, and after the Ukrainian team scored a goal.

The club also shared photos of the Turkish team wearing “Stop the war” shirts before the previous first-leg match in Poland and images of executives of both clubs' gathered at a meal before the second leg on Wednesday in Istanbul.

After the incident, UEFA launched a disciplinary investigation over "alleged misbehaviour of Fenerbahçe SK supporters" during the match at Istanbul’s Ulker Stadium.