Diyarbakır (Rudaw) – Kurdish politician Leyla Zana, who was the target of the racist and sexist wave rising from the stands during the matches of some teams after Bursaspor, will attend the Amedspor match to which she was invited. The decision to participate in the match was taken in consultation with Amedspor management.
Amedspor President Nahit Eren called Leyla Zana on Friday, December 26th. He invited me to the Amedspor-Iğdırspor match.
Expressing her satisfaction with the invitation, Zana replied, “Let’s think together, let’s decide together.”
According to the information obtained by Rûdaw Diyarbakır Representative Maşallah Dekak, Leyla Zana and Amedspor President Nahit Eren consulted about participation in the match today evening (Saturday, December 27). As a result of consultation, a joint decision was made. In line with the common decision, Leyla Zana will attend the Amedspor-Iğdırspor match to be played in Diyarbakır on Sunday, December 28.
What happened?
In the Somaspor-Bursaspor match played in the TFF 2nd League last week, the guest team shouted sexist and abusive slogans targeting Kurdish politician Leyla Zana from the Bursaspor stands. These mass chants in the stadium attracted great public reaction, along with the images shared on social media. During the matches in Kurdish provinces, fans chanted “Leyla Zana is our honor”, “Her bijî Leyla Zana”, “Leyla Zana rûmeta me ye” and the images attracted great attention on social media.
Reactions poured in to the abusive chant
Many figures from the world of politics and civil society, especially Amedspor Club President Nahit Eren, condemned the incident harshly. While former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Bülent Arınç called the prosecutors to duty, saying, “I watched it with shame, I curse it from the highest pitch”; MHP Group Deputy Chairman Erkan Akçay also reacted to the disrespect by reminding Alparslan Türkeş’s address to Zana as “my daughter”. In addition, 16 Bar Associations and various legal organizations in the region made joint statements and demanded that a legal process be initiated against hate language.
TFF fined Bursaspor
Following the reactions, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) referred Bursaspor to discipline due to “ugly and bad cheering”. The Board fined the club on the grounds that the action was repeated for the second time in matches where the club was the guest club in the same season and other field incidents. This invitation made by Amedspor President Nahit Eren to Leyla Zana was interpreted as both a response to the sexist attacks in the Bursaspor match and a gesture of solidarity towards Zana.
DEM Party filed a criminal complaint
DEM Party initiated a comprehensive legal process regarding the insulting chants rising from the stands during football matches against Leyla Zana, one of the symbolic figures of Kurdish politics. DEM Party Law and Human Rights Commission applied to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan and filed a criminal complaint against all persons responsible for the incident and the negligent officials.
