Turkish Süper Lig football team Beşiktaş travelled to German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich last night (Tuesday) for a Champions League clash without any support, after opting to ban its fans from attending.
The two sides met at Bayern’s 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena in the first leg of the round of 16 stage of the competition.
However, Beşiktaş took the unusual step of banning its own fans from buying tickets to the game due an incident at a Europa League match against Lyon in the 2016-17 season.
Lyon and Beşiktaş fans clashed in the stands and on the pitch prior to the match, delaying kick-off by 45 minutes. Both clubs were issued with a fine of €100,000 ($123,200/£88,200) and handed suspended bans.
However, according to Bavaianfootballwoks.com, should either club be found guilty of any further offences in this season’s Champions League, they could face a two-year ban from European competition.
In an effort to avoid a similar incident and a possible ban, Beşiktaş opted not to place away tickets on sale for the game.
However, Beşiktaş fans that hoped to attend the match were probably glad that they stayed away, after Bayern Munich ran out 5-0 winners on the night, taking a five-goal advantage into the second leg.
Image: Richard Bartz
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