Bates calls for Besiktas ban
Ken Bates tonight called on UEFA to ban Besiktas from European competition in the wake of Tuesday night’s scenes in Germany.
European football’s governing body have begun disciplinary proceedings against the Turkish club following crowd trouble at the Champions League match with Chelsea in Gelsenkirchen on Tuesday.
Besiktas lost the match, tumbled out of the group and into the third round of the UEFA Cup, while Chelsea progressed into the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition with a 2-0 win.
UEFA switched the game from Istanbul in the interests of safety following recent terrorist attacks there – but the angry locals were determined to make Chelsea feel as if they were in Turkey.
Chelsea ran a gauntlet of hate and at the end of the match the Blues had to leave the pitch shielded by umbrellas to avoid a barrage of missiles.
Blues defender John Terry compared the experience to playing for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England in Turkey in their final Euro 2004 qualifier in Istanbul in October.
And Chelsea chairman Bates believes UEFA should crack down on Besiktas, believing they should receive a firmer punishment than Lazio defender Sinisa Mihajlovic got for spitting at Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu in last month’s Champions League clash between the teams in Rome.
Bates told Sky Sports News: “If they (UEFA) can fine one man for spitting within 48 hours and ban him for eight matches, then what should they be doing to a club who don’t seem to be able to control their fans?
“Turkey is a country which seems to get away with everything – I think they (Besiktas) should be banned from European competition for a year.
“It annoys me that there seems to be one rule for the British clubs and one rule for the rest.”
The second half of Tuesday’s match was delayed by around eight minutes when Besiktas fans threw toilet rolls onto the pitch.
And Bates claimed: “All those toilet rolls coming on was orchestrated.
“They wanted to get the kick-off delayed so they (Besiktas) would know what the other result was before our game finished.”
He joked: “I said to (Chelsea owner) Roman Abramovich, ‘if you fancy making another billion, go and open another toilet factory in Turkey’.”
Bates admitted he was delighted when he heard Sparta Prague had booked their place in the Champions League last 16 at the expense of the Turkish outfit with a last-minute goal against Lazio.
The chairman added: “When our second goal went in they (Besiktas) were delighted because they knew the score elsewhere.
“But I was jumping up when Sparta scored and I thought ‘good riddance’ because I don’t want them in the league again.”
