Ankaraspor Relegated to a Lower Division

Turkcell Super League team Ankaraspor has been relegated to the lower First Division by the Turkish Football Association. Ankaraspor board agreed a merger with Ankaragucu during the season, which was found dubious by the federation.

Ankaraspor has been an interesting team in Turkish Football. They were indirectly supported by Ankara Municipal and coached by famous German manager Jurgen Rober. Also, prior to the federation's decision, they had sent their best player to Ankaragucu.

This is how Reuters covered the story:

By Daren Butler

ISTANBUL, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Ankaraspor were demoted to the Turkish second division on Tuesday over the club's links to top flight rivals Ankaragucu, which the country's football authorities said were anti-competitive.

A probe was launched last week into the relationship between the two clubs from the country's capital after the son of the city's mayor was appointed chairman of Ankaragucu.

The mayor is honorary chairman of Ankaraspor and the move fuelled speculation about a bid to merge the two clubs. The Turkish Football Federation ordered the process be halted.

"The Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK) decided to relegate Ankaraspor by one division over its relationship with Ankaragucu... ruling that it was contrary to sporting competitiveness," the PFDK ruling said.

The chairmen of Ankaraspor and Ankaragucu were suspended from their duties for six months. Ankaragucu were not relegated but the club's board members were suspended for three months.

Last weekend's match between Ankaraspor and Kayserispor was postponed because of the investigation.

Ankaraspor and Ankaragucu were 14th and 15th respectively in the Turkish championship before Tuesday's ruling.


Source: http://football.uk.reuters.com/european/news/LF566919.php

Anderlecht 5 - Sivasspor 0

In its fifth match in European Cups, Sivasspor has suffered a disappointing defeat against Anderlecht. With 5 new players in the squad, and the injuries of Mehmet Yildiz and Sezer Badur, Sivasspor has shown signs of extreme lack of discipline and organization. Especially the Australian goalkeeper Petkovic made crucial mistakes and the team failed to produce goal chances.

Team's coach Bulent Uygun said in a post-match interview that he "apologizes" for the defeat and stressed the team's lack of experience in the European arena.


Sivasspor has been playing in the Turkish Superleague for 5 years and it's a success for them to be playing at this level already. Hopefully, they can do better in the UEFA Euro League.


Anderlecht's goals were scored by:
De Sutter 17, 76, Boussoufa 22, Chatelle 32, Frutos 90+ 2

Sivasspor Squad:

* 1 Michael Petkovic
* 4 Sedat Bayrak
* 7 Aydın Musa
* 8 İbrahim Dağaşan
* 11 Erman Kılıç
* 23 Yasin Çakmak
* 28 Ersen Martin
* 44 Pieter Mbemba
* 58 Hayrettin Yerlikaya
* 61 Abdurrahman Dereli
* 77 Onur Tuncer

Substitutes

* 35 Akın Vardar
* 5 Murat Sözgelmez
* 14 Yannick Kamanan
* 18 Cihan Cihan Yılmaz
* 67 Uğur Kavuk
* 80 Akeem Agbetu
* 99 Faruk Bayar

Kobol vs. Galatasaray: 1-1

Galatasaray had a surprising draw today (1-1) against the Kazakh team Kobol in an away game. The lights went off after 40 mins, postponing the game for 12 minutes. It was a qualifier game for the UEFA Europa League. Frank Rijkaard's team consisted of mainly youngsters who won't, probably, be playing in the preferred squad of the team. Galatasaray started with a 4-3-3 formation, with 2 right wingers, and had to switch to 4-1-2-3 as the game progressed. It was Arda Turan and Milan Baros, two substitutes, who changed the game for the team.

Darius Vassel at Ankaragucu!

It is probably the most surprising transfer of the year: Ankaragucu has transferred Manchester City's Darius Vassell on a free transfer. He signed a 2+1 year contract and he will earn 900k Euros per year.

Ankaragucu is an interesting team with a passionate supporter group. They always manage to avoid relegation somehow and this year they will be celebrating their 100th year. Therefore, they are trying to build a strong squad that will fight for a ticktet to one of the European cups. Also, the media reports that Ankaragucu is interested in signing Sol Campbell.


Here is a video of how the fans welcomed him in Ankara airport.

Ankaragücü'nde Muhteşem Karşılama
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