Fenerbahce fans hurled missiles into the Galatasaray home end during Monday night’s Istanbul derby.
The two giants of Turkish football were meeting at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium – the home of Galatasaray.
But the contest was disrupted midway through when pyrotechnics were launched towards the Galatasaray crowd by the travelling fans.
A whopping 30,000 police officers were reportedly brought in to help manage crowd trouble ahead of the clash.
Tensions had already flared off the pitch before kick-off when the decision was taken by the Turkish Football Federation to appoint a foreign referee.
Slovenian official Slavko Vincic was appointed to the match – a move supported by Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho.
The ex-Manchester United and Chelsea manager said: “The decision has been made and he is a top-level referee, I think it is important for credibility.
“I am happy with this decision. Although it may not seem like it sometimes, I am a person who wants fair play. We want to win, they want to win. I hope it will be a big match.”
The match in the Turkish capital on Monday night finished in a goalless draw.
It comes amid an ongoing debate surrounding refereeing standards in Turkey, with a series of incidents having plagued the current season.
Adana Demirspor players opted to walk off the pitch during a clash against Galatasaray earlier this month, whereas Mourinho has previously protested a VAR decision by placing a laptop showing a replay of the incident in front of the television cameras.
On a separate occasion, the Portuguese tactician blasted referee standards, saying: “Today, the man of the match was [VAR referee] Atilla Karaoglan. We didn’t see him, but he was the referee of the match. The referee was just a little boy who was there on the pitch, but the referee was Atilla Karaoglan.
“He went from the invisible man to the most important man of the match. I speak on behalf of all Fenerbahce fans: we don’t want him again. We don’t want him because it smells bad. We don’t want him. We don’t want him on the pitch, but on the VAR even less.”
It was Mourinho’s second taste of the derby vs Galatasaray, having been beaten by the record Turkish champions 3-1 earlier in the season.
The result leaves Galatasaray six points clear at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table, with Fenerbahce sat in second.
The match-up is considered one of the fiercest in world football and is dubbed the ‘The Intercontinental Derby’ – a reference to the fact both clubs sit on either side of the European and Asian divide in Istanbul.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk