FIFA held up its own “Welcome to Hell” placards to Turkish football last night when it ordered the national team to play their entire European Championship qualifying campaign abroad as punishment for the ugly scenes in Istanbul that marred their World Cup exit in November. The draconian measures can be seen as a severe warning to the 32 teams at this year’s finals not to step out of line in Germany.
Turkey must stage their next six competitive games behind closed doors on neutral territory, a devastating response to the violence committed by players, officials, stewards, police and fans after the play-off match against Switzerland.
An angry Sepp Blatter had promised tough action because “fair play has been trampled underfoot”. Although the Fifa president’s position precluded him from sitting on the disciplinary panel, his wish was granted. Emre Belözoglu, the Newcastle United midfield player, and Alpay Özalan, the former Aston Villa defender, were also suspended for Turkey’s next six competitive matches. Benjamin Huggel, the Switzerland player, received the same punishment for retaliating against Alpay, effectively ruling him out of the finals this summer.
The announcement was condemned in Turkey, where suspicions had been raised that Blatter, a Swiss, was not impartial enough to have made public pronouncements on the matter. “I describe this as unacceptable,” Mehmet Sahin, Turkey’s Sports Minister, said. “This is a political decision rather than a sports decision.” Haluk Ulusoy, president of the Turkish FA, said that it would appeal. “It is a grave and blood-curdling decision,” he said. “The legal process is not over. We will fight until the end.”
Switzerland players left the pitch under a hail of objects thrown by the crowd after securing a World Cup finals place on the away-goals rule, but there was greater alarm at their treatment on the ground. Stéphane Grichting, the defender, needed a catheter inserted after being kicked in the stomach, while others had horror stories to tell.
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Television footage showed Alpay kicking Marco Streller, the forward, as the players entered the tunnel, while a newspaper picture showed Mehmet Ozdilek, the Turkey assistant coach, with his foot outstretched as Switzerland players passed him. Ozdilek has been banned from football for a year.
Erich Burgener, the Switzerland goalkeeping coach, said that he had been attacked by stewards in the tunnel. “When I saw four or five guys come and beat me while they were supposed to protect me, I got really scared,” he said.
Johann Lonfat, the midfield player, said that police had joined Turkey players in beating their opponents in the tunnel. “It was hell,” Philipp Degen, the defender, said. “I have never experienced something as brutal as that before.”
The Turkish FA has been fined Sw Fr 200,000 (about £88,000). The six home matches must be played a minimum of 500 kilometres away from the Turkish border.
Fifa shied away from banning Turkey from the 2010 World Cup, as Blatter had threatened — a punishment that it inflicted upon Chile for the 1994 tournament after their goalkeeper had cut himself to pretend that he had been hit by a missile thrown from the crowd — but the penalty is still harsh enough to send a clear message to this summer’s finalists.