Fan rampage stops Galatasaray, Besiktas derby

The high-profile Istanbul derby between bitter rivals Galatasaray and Besiktas was abandoned on Sunday when fans invaded the pitch, throwing seats at tear gas-firing police.

There were just two minutes left when supporters of Besiktas, who were losing 2-1 at the time, clashed with police, the private NTV television reported.

Fighting began after Galatasaray midfielder Felipe Melo had been red-carded in the second minute of injury time.

Fans chanted: “Everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance,” referring to a well-known slogan of the Gezi Park protests that rocked Turkey in June.

Besiktas’s fan club, Carsi Group, led the anti-government protests sparked by a local campaign to save Istanbul’s central Gezi Park from demolition and broadened into nationwide demonstrations against the ruling party, seen as increasingly authoritarian.