Turkish Super Lig: Fenerbache host their fierce rivals Besiktas in a cross-continent derby

There are cross-city derbies, cross-regional derbies and in Istanbul, there are cross-continent derbies.

Fenerbahce from the Asian shores of Istanbul will be pitted against European-based city rivals Besiktas at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium. Fans of the Black Eagles will have to cross the Bosphorus by Ferry, bridge, underground – or swim – to get to the Sukru Saracoglu stadium.

Away fans attending derby fixtures may sound a pretty normal state of affairs unless of course, you follow Turkish football. The federation outlawed travelling supporters from rival stadiums in 2011 following a rise in crowd disturbances.

Five years on the federation decided to lift the ban. The reason behind the recent move has a lot to do with the controversial Passolig ticketing system. Fans are obligated to sign-up for a credit card called ‘Passolig’ which when funded can be used to purchase match day tickets. The measures were taken to make it easier to identify trouble makers as all details of fans and their seat numbers are added to the system. There are, however, critics of the new measures who raise issues about data protection, privacy and that the current setup lacks flexibility. It is too early to determine whether it will go down as a success or end up being shelved at a future that but as things stand it is the only way to get into a game as a fan.

Besiktas president Fikret Orman feels the federation made the right call in lifting the ban and underlined that it is the fans that make football.

Orman told Emre Sarigul: “Without fans there is no football. Besiktas have always been against the ban and we have campaigned for it to be lifted since it was first implemented.”

Turkish fans have a fiery reputation but Orman underlined that Besiktas fan culture has a tradition of raising awareness for humanitarian causes with the most recent example being the Silent Cheer campaign which involved the entire Vodafone Arena stadium using sign language for one minute at the start of the Champions League clash against Benfica to raise awareness to people with hearing disabilities ahead of the UN’s International Day of People with Disabilities.

Orman said: “The football stands form the foundation blocks of football. Besiktas are a great example of fans and club being intertwined. In our last Champions League game against Benfica our ‘Silent Cheer’ choreography received global attention and we demonstrated how fan culture can be used as a positive force. We raised awareness for people with hearing disabilities. The fans used sign language to deliver the message, ‘Say No To Racism’ underlining our stance against discrimination in what was world first.”

The derby holds huge importance for both sides. Fenerbahce have won their last seven consecutive games in all competitions including victories over Manchester United and arch-rivals Galatasaray. The Yellow Canaries are however, four points behind reigning champions Besiktas who are undefeated in second place. A victory for the Black Eagles could see them finish the week as leaders before heading into Match Day 6 in the Champions League against Dynamo Kiev with a great chance of booking a place in the next round.

Derbies do sometimes tend to be scrappy and controversial refereeing decisions have marred games in the past but Orman hopes that the team playing the best football wins.

Orman stated: “Both teams obviously want to win but our goal is to play beautiful football and get the result. Hopefully, the game is determined by the football displayed on the field”

Besiktas were in a financial crisis when Fikret Orman took charge of the club back in 2012. Four-years on the Eagles have completed the Vodafone Arena project, sweeping changes have been made to the footballing and commercial structure and the club are in the strongest position they have been in recent memory. There are signs that the Black-Whites are entering a golden era and a victory away to Fenerbahce followed by booking a place in the Champions League Last 16 would be the latest in a growing list of achievements but they have to find a way past the Yellow Canaries first.

Fenerbahce have lost just once at home against Besiktas in their last 10 encounters. Besiktas are renowned for playing attacking, aesthetically pleasing football but their rivals possess plenty of firepower as well – in fact, they have scored more goals than any other team (28). Besiktas will know all about Moussa Sow who scored an unbelievable overhead kick against Manchester United last month as he did the same against them back in 2012. Sow has actually scored eight times in his last seven games against the Black Eagles. Then there is of course, Robin van Persie who has hit red hot form. The home side are however, expected to be without star winger Jeremain Lens – although it didn’t make much difference against Galatasaray.

We are not even half way through the season but this Istanbul derby could end up having a major impact in the title race. A Besiktas win would take them seven points clear of Fenerbahce. If the opposite happens the Yellow Canaries will close the gap to just a single point. A draw meanwhile could give this season’s surprise package Basaksehir – or in other words the Leicester City of the Super League – a golden ticket to extend their lead at the top of the table.