Bursaspor handed nine-game stadium fan ban after racist attacks on Amedspor

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The disciplinary board of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has imposed an eight-game fan ban and a 326,000 lira (17,200 US dollars) fine on Bursaspor after racist attacks on Amedspor during a Second Football League match on March 5.

Also, the board imposed a one-game crowd ban because the stairs were not left empty during the game.

During the game, fans of Bursaspor, the home team, displayed banners evoking the memories of enforced disappearances in the country's Kurdish-majority regions in the 1990s.

Also, the fans threw objects such as plastic bottles and firecrackers onto the pitch throughout the match.

Amedspor is based in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır. The team has faced several similar attacks over the past few years.

On the stands, there were banners making reference to the 1990s' conflict in the country's predominantly Kurdish-majority regions. One of the banners showed Mahmut Yıldırım, also known by the alias "Yeşil" (Green), a former intelligence officer held responsible for dozens of extrajudicial killings in that period.

Another banner showed a white Renault Taurus, which has become a symbol of the enforced disappearances in that period as many people would be put in those cars when being abducted.

The referees did not postpone the game despite the incidents. Bursaspor won the match 2-1. The clubs compete in the White Group of the Second League, the third level in the country's football league system. (RT/VK)