Istanbul derby delivers three goals, five red cards

Five players were given their marching orders in a fiery Super Lig clash between Istanbul giants Fenerbahce and Besiktas on Saturday with two of the red cards dished out in the final minutes.

Fenerbahce beat Besiktas 2-1 at home in the season’s first derby at the Ulker stadium on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Besiktas’ Ricardo Quaresma was the first recipient of the referee’s wrath when he was sent off in the first half for a bad tackle after two yellow cards.

Fenerbahce defender Luis Neto soon followed in the 45th minute for bringing another player down.

In a dramatic end, red cards were given to Besiktas’ Atiba Hutchinson and the home team’s Ismail Koybasi, who was given a second yellow for a hard tackle.

Red card number five went to Besiktas’ Oguzhan Ozyakup who was ordered off the pitch after a second booking following the final whistle for allegedly insulting referee Ali Palabiyik.

Ozyakup told reporters: “There was no swearing, no insult.”

He said he “only criticised” the referee whom he claimed “could not tolerate” it.

“He gave me a yellow card, then a red card because I criticised him,” Ozakup told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Brazilian midfielder Giuliano scored the first penalty for Fenerbahce giving the home team a lead in the first half.

Then Dutch striker Vincent Janssen, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, scored the second penalty for the hosts in the 86th minute with former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel scoring Besiktas’ only goal a minute later.

The next big Istanbul derby will be on October 22 between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.

Saturday’s red card tally although high was a long way short of the record 36 red cards handed out by a referee in a fifth tier Argentinian league game in 2011 to all the players, substitutes and coaches of Claypole and Victoriano Arenas.