Wolfsburg defeat drives Beşiktaş fans over the edge

Beşiktaş slipped deeper into disorder after fans called on Chairman Yıldırım Demirören to resign during the team’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The defending Turkcell Super League champion was seemingly turning things around, enjoying a five-match unbeaten streak after a slow start to the season. However, a shutout loss made the İnönü Stadium faithful angry again.

Beşiktaş was in a battling mood taking on last year’s German champion, but Wolfsburg took the lead in only the 14th minute of the game with Zvjezdan Misimovic finding the net in a long-range effort. The home team tried to level the score but failed to fire its shots on target. With the game hitting the last 10-minute mark, Wolfsburg started to sting with counterattacks. Midfielder Christian Gentner doubled the lead for the Germans when he rounded keeper Hakan Arıkan and fired the ball home.

It was the moment that Beşiktaş fans stopped cheering for their team and channeled their energy to protest Chairman Demirören.

At first it was the usual “Resign Demirören” chants that filled İnönü Stadium, but when the chairman stood up and gestured against the fans, the chants transformed into cries of “Damn you, Chairman, leave now!”

However, when Wolfsburg finished off the game with an easy strike by Edin Dzeko, Beşiktaş fans’ infamous sense of humor was at work again as the stands erupted in cheers for Wolfsburg’s third goal as if it was scored by the home team. As the game wound down, the fans ended up chanting for the German side.

This is not the first time that Beşiktaş supporters showed strong reactions against Demirören, as they chanted in a similar way during the team’s Turkcell Super League game against Denizlispor three weeks ago. That match also witnessed some crowd trouble, with several groups that were reportedly close to the chairman picking fights with protesters.

Speaking after the game, coach Mustafa Denizli complained that the stadium atmosphere was not helping his team at all.

“In recent weeks, we have not been playing in a positive atmosphere here,” he said. “The slightest negativity is reflected in the team’s performance.”

That loss ended the club’s hopes of qualifying for the next round in the Champions League. The Black Eagles are at the bottom of Group B, with only one point in four games. Despite being held to an unlikely 3-3 draw by CSKA Moscow, Manchester United maintains its lead in the group and guarantees its place in the round of 16. While Wolfsburg and CSKA will vie for the second spot with two games left to go, Beşiktaş will only play for the dim chance of taking the third spot and qualifying for the Europa League, the second-tier competition of European club football.

Denizli admitted that the club has a mountain to climb now.

“We are in a very difficult situation now,” said the Turkish coach. “We will do what we can in the last two games.”

The defeat to Wolfsburg has set a new low for Beşiktaş’s Champions League history. The loss by three goals is the biggest home defeat that Beşiktaş has suffered in the five seasons it has played in European football’s top-level competition.