ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish football club Amedspor on Saturday condemned a “racist” attack on its supporters in central Turkey and called on authorities to identify and punish the perpetrators.
“We strongly condemn the racist attack against our supporters in Nevsehir. Such attacks target social peace and the culture of coexistence,” read a statement from Amedspor on X.
“We demand that those responsible be identified by the relevant authorities as soon as possible and punished with the necessary legal actions,” it added.
Thirteen people from the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir (Amed) were attacked and injured by a 20-person group in the town of Urgup in Nevsehir province on Friday evening, according to Turkish media reports.
One of the victims said they were attacked for wearing Amedspor jerseys.
Remzi Bozkurt told the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency that he was with his friends at a park when they were confronted by two people telling them to take off their jerseys.
“We were threatened when we didn't take off the jersey. After that, they told us, 'Wait until the evening, we'll show you,' and then they left,” he said.
The assailants later returned with a larger group of people and attacked the Amedspor supporters reportedly using sticks, stones, and knives. Three people were injured.
According to Mezopotamya Agency, the victims were taken to police stations to make statements. Twelve of them were then released and one was taken to a courthouse in Urgup for his statement to be taken by the chief prosecutor’s office.
Amedspor has been the subject of several controversies in Turkey in the past few years after it changed its name to reflect the Kurdish name, Amed, of its home city of Diyarbakir. The team often faces nationalist and anti-Kurdish chants during their away games, sometimes leading to violence.
At least seven people were arrested over physical altercations and anti-Kurdish banners that were raised during a match between Bursaspor and Amedspor in March 2023.
Videos on social media showed Bursaspor fans throwing knives, bullets, and water bottles onto the pitch while chanting racist slogans against Kurds and raising banners depicting Turkish paramilitary figures accused of killing Kurds in Diyarbakir in the 1990s. Amedspor players were also physically attacked by the opposing team’s staff on and off the pitch.
In September 2022, five people were arrested for raising the Kurdistan flag during an Amedspor game, though they were later released.
The Turkish government often associates Kurdish symbols like the Kurdistan flag with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and slaps terror charges on those waving it.
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