15 Bar Associations Announce Legal Action Over Galatasaray Video

Bar Associations Announce Legal Action Following Controversial Video

Fifteen bar associations announced legal action and issued a joint condemnation after Galatasaray released a promotional video featuring gold tissue paper that critics linked to a controversial political symbol, Diken reported.

The 17-second clip, published on the club’s official X account following a 4-3 Süper Lig victory against Amed Sportif Faaliyetler at RAMS Park, drew immediate controversy across social media and public platforms. Galatasaray and Amedspor faced each other on November 7, 2026, in the 11th week of the Süper Lig season.

The video showcased packaging for a custom-designed 53-number jersey for forward Barış Alper Yılmaz. Critics and social media users claimed the initial frames resembled a “yellow bag”—a term utilized by nationalist circles in Turkey as a symbol referring to body bags of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants killed in security operations, according to coverage by Sözcü Gazetesi.

Bar associations from Ağrı, Batman, Bingöl, Bitlis, Dersim, Diyarbakır, Hakkari, Iğdır, Kars, Mardin, Muş, Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak, and Van released a joint statement condemning the broadcast. Medyascope reported that the 15 baros emphasized that the imagery could not be dismissed as a simple visual element due to its weight in the Kurdish community’s collective memory of loss and grief.

The statement asserted that sports clubs carry a shared responsibility to protect social peace and human dignity rather than allowing competition to mock historical trauma. The bar associations added that utilizing this symbol within sports competition risks trivializing past sufferings and societal traumas.

Club Response and Expanded Video Releases

GSStore removed the initial 17-second clip amid escalating criticism and issued a formal statement addressing the controversy. Galatasaray Mağazacılık AŞ stated that the gold-colored pelure paper used in the packaging was solely part of the special box design for the player’s merchandise and carried no additional meaning or message, as noted by Medyascope.

Following the removal of the first post, the club published a 43-second video showing the unboxing of the special-edition box, which featured the word “Invincible” printed across the packaging. Diken reported that a third video lasting six and a half minutes was later released under the note “Bu kez yakından” (This time up close), featuring Barış Alper Yılmaz discussing the custom collection.

Amedspor President Nahit Eren rejected the removal of the initial post as insufficient. Writing on social media, Eren called on Galatasaray management to issue a public explanation, initiate disciplinary procedures against those responsible, and issue a formal apology, stating that the situation could not be brushed aside under the guise of a standard product promotion.

Supporter Repaints Home to Protest Club Actions

Mehdi Keskinkılıç, a Galatasaray supporter living in the village of Tokluca in Diyarbakır’s Silvan district, removed the club crest from his home’s exterior walls. Rûdaw reported that Keskinkılıç, who had painted his house in the club’s yellow and red colors four years prior, stated he would repaint the building in Amedspor’s yellow and green colors in protest.

Speaking to Maşallah Dekak from Rûdaw TV, the 30-year-old fan criticized the club by stating, Hereby I am calling out to the Galatasaray club president: You did this to 60 million Kurds. If you have no tolerance for 60 million Kurds, I have no tolerance for your crest either! I am calling out to our brothers who support Galatasaray: Return to your identity, we have no tolerance for those who have no tolerance for our Kurdishness and added that he will replace the removed Galatasaray crest with an Amedspor crest.

Meanwhile, the Galatasaraylı Hukukçular Platformu (Galatasaray Lawyers Platform) announced plans to file criminal complaints against individuals spreading what they characterized as a slanderous “yellow bag” comparison against the club. Diken reported that the platform maintained the association was entirely unfounded and aimed at damaging the institution.

The dispute follows an earlier incident during the second week of the Süper Lig season, when a group of supporters at the Kocaeli Stadium waved yellow bags toward Amedspor fans during a match against Kocaelispor. Sözcü Gazetesi reported that the Kocaeli Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office subsequently launched an investigation into five individuals on charges of inciting public hatred and hostility, releasing them under house arrest.

More on Galatasaray: Galatasaray vs Esenler Erokspor November 8 Time Venue and Broadcast · Galatasaray players mock Ismail Jakobs with viral jersey célébration · Galatasaray defeats VfB Stuttgart in Champions League match in Istanbul