| ultrAslan | |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Club | Galatasaray |
| Chief coordinator | Oğuz Altay |
| Nicknames | uA |
| Website | www.ultraslan.com |
ultrAslan is an ultras group who support Turkish football club Galatasaray. They were named as "ultrAslan" in 2001 but their history goes way back. They have branches both in Turkey and abroad. Since its formation, ultrAslan has endured some criticism from the Turkish media, who often caricature them as hooligans.
Background and creation
The symbol of Galatasaray is a lion and in 1995, a supporters group, Aslanlar (the Lions), was founded. The most active members lived in Kadıköy, a district in the Anatolian side of Istanbul. Their main banner was Kadiköylü Aslanlar (The Lions of Kadiköy).
However, by 1999, no main group existed and the kapalı (covered) stands of Ali Sami Yen Stadium, where the most fanatic fans were, was made of a number of small groups. After Galatasaray won the UEFA Cup, beating English club, Arsenal in 2000 where there was also violence between Galatasary fans and Arsenal's organised hooligan firm, some fans decided to form a more organized group. The smaller groups were then unified to form one large group, choosing the name "ultrAslan", which means Ultras Lions in Turkish. The goal of the group was to be an independent supporters association which would unite all Galatasaray fans and support the club in each of its sports branches, in all venues.
ultrAslan is a right wing nationalist ultras group.
ultrAslan began to create further sections of the group. ultrAslan-ÜNI was launched for all Galatasaray fan groups in Turkish universities. ultrAslan-BH the youth section of the group, mostly made up of college students, was also established. The old stand leaders, however, feared that ultrAslan would control the Kapali stand in their place, and some problems began. Finally, on 6 May 2002, when Galatasaray played at Fenerbahçe's Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, the stands leader, Sebahattin Şahin, known as "Sebo", appeared wearing an ultrAslan scarf. New sections such as Ölümüne ("Until we die"), Sultans, and Yürüyedur ("Keep Walking") also appeared at this time.
The ultrAslan-Europe section was created for Turks living in Europe, and they made their first appearance at a UEFA Champions League match at Anfield against Liverpool on 20 February 2002. ultrAslan-Europe has sub-divisions in Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. Also, in 2002, the ultrAslan banner was present for Turkey games during the World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Özhan Canaydın was elected chairman of Galatasaray, with the goal of promoting "fair play" in Turkish football. However, he made several decisions against fans' wishes, including an attempt to ban fans from attending away derby matches. When Galatasaray played FC Barcelona on 24 September 2002 in a Champions League group match, some ultrAslan fans threw dozens of lit flares onto the pitch, so the club would receive a fine from UEFA in order to punish Canaydın. Several days later, in a league match against İstanbulspor, ultrAslan decided to leave the kapalı stand for the Eski Açık stand behind one goal and turned the their backs to the pitch to protest against the board. At the end of the game, there were violent incidents between ultrAslan members and the police.[citation needed]
On 6 November 2002, Galatasaray played Fenerbahçe at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium and there was fighting between the fans of both sides. At halftime, Galatasaray fans were removed from the stadium by the police. Some were arrested, and many of ultrAslan's most active members received stadiums bans. The Galatasaray board continued its stance against ultrAslan. After pressure from the board, the Genç Galatasaraylılar Derneği organization was closed and only the name ultrAslan remained. Because of these conditions, a number of ultrAslan leaders left the group, resulting in disorganization and a lack of funds. ultrAslan sections appeared in other Turkish cities, with their own banners, without any centralized control.
Toward the end of 2002, Yürüyedur, a 25-member group of Galatasaray fans, which started as a section of ultrAslan, was slowly growing apart from ultrAslan. They had their own products, their own website, they organized tifos at matches against Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş. ultrAslan though was not organizing much, due to the absence of the association and a lack of funds and motivated people. The old stand leaders were embarrassed about Yürüyedür's growing popularity in the stands. They prevented them from bringing their banners to the stadium, unless they clearly stated their relation to ultrAslan. At the same time, a new group, Karşı, composed of fans from the Anatolian side of Istanbul, joined ultrAslan.
In April 2003, Galatasaray obtained the right to sell products carrying the ultrAslan logo in its stores, and ultrAslan became a registered trademark. The result of this was that anyone could buy ultrAslan products. Some criticized the decision, arguing that ultrAslan woud lose its independence. Others thoug approved of it, saying it could earn money for the club. However, at the end of 2006, Galatasaray announced that they giving back the ultrAslan brand to the group.
In the 2003–04 season, Galatasaray played home matches at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. ultrAslan used the main stand, also called Kapali. ultrAslan continued their action against Özhan Canaydın, this time for having left the Ali Sami Yen Stadium and because of the teams poor results. In August 2004, Galatasaray played in the Champions World Series tournament, against FC Porto at Giants Stadium, in New Jersey, United States. An ultrAslan-USA banner was shown and this group also takes part each year in New York City's Turkish day parade.
For the 2004-05 season, Galatasaray returned to the Ali Sami Yen Stadium and celebrated its centenary. ultrAslan suspended their protest against the board in a show of unity, and called Özhan Canaydın to the stands, calling him "Great President" for the first league match against Konyaspor. After several fights between Yürüyedur and the old stand leaders at the beginning of the season during the Akçaabat Sebatspor and Malatyaspor games, mainly about the possibility of former player Fatih Akyel's return, Yürüyedur left the stands for good. However, some fans criticized the old leaders saying that they act in their own interests, and claiming that they earn money from selling tickets, which they receive free, on the black market. Interviewed about this issue on television, ultrAslan leader Alpaslan Dikmen denied any problem existed and claimed that Yürüyedur had only ever been a banner in the stadium and had never been a fan group.[1] At the end of the season, internal problems appeared in ultrAslan in Turkey, after old stand leaders shouted against Galatasaray coach Gheorghe Hagi, and threatened fellow fans who disagreed. Hagi eventually resigned.
In 2005, a German branch of ultrAslan-Europe was opened in Duisburg. On 8 June, the new ultrAslan-Kazakhstan branch displayed their banner at a 2006 FIFA World Cup group two qualifying match between Kazakshtan and Turkey.
In 2005–06, ultrAslan renewed its protests against the Galatasaray administration, criticizing the board for what they claimed were lies about the construction of a new stadium, the controversial departure of Franck Ribéry, the use of Galatasaray's island, the transfers of new players, their responsibility in Gheorghe Hagi's departure and what ultraSlan claimed was their general incapacity to manage the club efficiently and profitably. They chose, however, not to be violent. They showed banners at the first league game against Konyaspor, and shook white handkerchiefs as a protest at the next home game against Malatyaspor.
After Galatasaray's shock elimination by Norwegian club Tromsø IL in the first round of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, fans shouted "Board, resign". However, some criticized the ultrAslan leaders for limiting their protests against the board because of their obedience to the old stand leaders, who are financially assisted by the board. Meanwhile, ultrAslan started to organize tifos again. Two of their most active sections, Sultans and Karşı, organized hand-made tifos for matches against Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş. ultrAslan tried more and more to create their tifos and banners by hand, instead of paying for industrial fabrication. The group celebrated its fifth anniversary on 17 February 2006, with a party in a nightclub in Istanbul.
In the 2006–07 season Galatasaray played again in the Champions League. Despite the fans wish to play at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Özhan Canaydın and the board chose not to make the necessary renovations to adapt it to UEFA rules, and raise more funds with ticket sales. Galatasaray played all three home games at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. ultrAslan protested during a match against Liverpool with a large banner saying "Forever Sami Yen". In December, before the away game at Fenerbahçe, ultrAslan appeared in Danny Dyer's documentary The Real Football Factories International. After provoking declarations from Fenerbahçe board member Ali Koç, of the Koç family, ultrAslan launched a campaign to boycott Koç products, using a banner at a match against Kayserispor in the Turkish Cup, with a tifo calling for a boycott.
The group also continued their protests against the board, with several banners during the season. These protests reached a peak on 19 May 2007, as Galatasaray hosted Fenerbahçe. ultrAslan fought with the police, and threw dozens of flares and hundreds of bottles on the pitch during the game.[citation needed] The Turkish Football Federation made Galatasaray play their first five games of the 2007–08 season behind closed doors.
References
- ^ ""Herkes Kesesine Göre"" (in Turkish). YouTube. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-03.