In an untoward incident involving the fans, Turkey's top-tier club Fenerbahce's supporters were heard chanting “Vladimir Putin” during the UEFA Champions League qualifier match against Dynamo Kyiv, which is a Ukrainian football team, on Wednesday. The chants broke out after the hosts conceded a goal, as Kyiv eventually went to win the contest 2-1. The outcome also put a dash to Fenerbahce's hopes of advancing to the league stages of the continental tournament.
The match saw some intense competition from both sides as Fenerbahce midfielder Ismail Yuksek also received a red card for his conduct. Vitaliy Buyalskyi broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, which put the Ukrainian side ahead. His celebration, however, was not well received by the home fans, who started chanting Putin's name in unison.
The videos of the incident took no time to go viral on social media, prompting an online backlash condemning the Istanbul side's fans and calling on European governing body UEFA to take action against the club.
{{/usCountry}}The videos of the incident took no time to go viral on social media, prompting an online backlash condemning the Istanbul side's fans and calling on European governing body UEFA to take action against the club.
{{/usCountry}}The match ended 1-1 after the regular 90 minutes but Oleksandr Karavaev's 114th minute winner sent Fenerbahce out of the competition.
UEFA, Europe's football governing body, took note of the incident and said an "Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector will conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding alleged misbehaviour of Fenerbahce supporters" at the Dynamo Kyiv match, adding further information would be made available later.
Vasyl Bodnar, Ukrainian Ambassador to Ankara, said on Twitter he was saddened by the chants but thanked those who stood against the "inappropriate actions" of the fans. "Football is a fair game. Dynamo Kyiv was stronger yesterday," he said.
In a statement on Thursday, Fenerbahce said the chants made by "some" fans did not represent the club, its position, or its views, adding that it stood firmly against the war in Ukraine. Fenerbahce said the chants lasted 20 seconds and were prompted by the "exaggerated" celebrations of some Kyiv players after the goal.
"Whatever the reason may be, we as the Fenerbahce Sport Club absolutely reject the reaction coming from parts of our stands," the club said, adding it was unfair to put blame on all its fans or the club for an act that "never represents our values."
-with Reuters inputs