European giants welcome a whopping 25,000 fans to members' vote to LEAVE their league

25.000 members fill Fenerbahce's home stadium in Istanbul.
25.000 members fill Fenerbahce's home stadium in Istanbul. (Image credit: Getty Images)

25,000 Fenerbahce members have turned up to the club's home stadium in order to vote on their Turkish Super Lig future.

Last month, hierarchy of the 19-time champions said they were considering a move to another European league after a mass brawl ensued following their match with Trabzonspor.

Fenerbahce won the game 3-2 but fans and players then attacked members of Ismail Kartal's squad as they attempted to leave the pitch.

Trabzonspor fans attacked Fenerbahce's players inside the stadium.

Trabzonspor fans attacked Fenerbahce's players inside the stadium. (Image credit: Getty Images)

With tensions still boiling over, some 25,000 members gathered inside the Sukru Sarakoglu Stadium on Tuesday to have their say on how they would the club to proceed.

Most are expected to want to leave the Turkish top flight, with a move to Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, France and Italy all touted as possible options.

No decision has yet been reached with Turkey's official governing body and it remains to be seen whether leaving the league midway through the season would be sanctioned.

The Athletic recently reported how the incident at the end of the Trabzonspor clash - which came after missiles also struck several Fenerbahce players during the game - was the final straw for the Turkish side, who believe they have received unfair treatment from authorities for years.

Michy Batshuayi celebrates with his Fenerbahce team-mates after victory against Trabzonspor in March 2024.

Fenerbahce are 19-time champions of the Turkish first division. (Image credit: Getty Images)

“We will create our own destiny, we'll be relegated to a lower league, if necessary,” Fenerbahce President Ali Koc said at a press conference last month

“We'll die once instead of dying every day. If necessary, we'll play [in the First Division] for a year and win promotion again. 

"If you treat us like a pariah club in this country, and I say this to the state, to the TFF [Turkish Football Federation], to the media, we have to decide our own future. 

"This is not some kind of blackmail or threat,” he added.

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Matthew Holt

Matthew is a Freelance Journalist and has racked up bylines for Manchester United, Manchester Evening News, GOAL and SPORTbible to name a few. A long-term sufferer of Scunthorpe United, he currently resides in the north-west after escaping the smog of North Lincolnshire.