By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp
ANKARA (AA) – No football players are being investigated over violence by some fans following a Turkish football match last weekend, the nation’s justice minister said Tuesday.
"Such images in our playing fields are unacceptable,” said Yilmaz Tunc about the incidents following a Sunday Super Lig match between Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor, adding: “Sport is about fellowship, peace, and friendship.”
“The names of the fans who entered the pitch and 38 people who attacked the players have been identified," he said. "At the moment there is no investigation into the players.”
On Monday Türkiye’s Interior Ministry said 12 suspects had been arrested for violence after the match.
On Sunday, as Fenerbahce players were celebrating their victory at the Papara Park sports complex, dozens of Trabzonspor fans ran onto the pitch to attack them. Security personnel rushed in to stop the chaos.
Videos circulating online showed some Fenerbahce players such as Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi, Nigerian winger Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Dutch defender Jayden Oosterwolde confronting the fans who invaded the pitch.
Their teammate Livakovic was punched while he was running to the tunnel off the pitch.
During the match, Trabzonspor fans also threw flares and various objects onto the pitch.
On Monday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino called the incident “absolutely unacceptable – on or off the field, it has no place in our sport or society.”
He called on authorities to make sure “the perpetrators of the shocking events” are held accountable for their actions.