UEFA ban ‘scandalous’, say Besiktas

The sanction, which also included fines of 100,000 euros ($107,000) each, came after crowd violence marred their Europa League quarter-final in France last week.

“There is nothing to say about this scandalous decision,” Istanbul giant Besiktas’s press spokesman Metin Albayrak told NTV television.

The French and Turkish teams were excluded from taking part in the next continental club competition they qualify for but the governing body decided that the suspension will be deferred “for a probationary period of two years”.

“It shows how biased a decision UEFA has made by putting us on an equal level with Lyon over incidents we were not responsible for,” Besiktas’s Albayrak said.

“It is not possible to accept the ban because Lyon’s police should be held entirely responsible for the incidents that broke out,” he said.

“This is no longer Besiktas’s issue but Turkey’s.”

Lyon and Besiktas both blamed opposing fans for instigating much of the trouble at the quarter-final first leg last Thursday, the start of which was delayed by 45 minutes.

Albayrak said the Istanbul team would take legal action after it saw the detailed UEFA decision and “we’ll do whatever is necessary.”