FOOTBALL MATCH / PROTEST / STADIA / ISTANBUL / POLITICAL FIELD / SUPPORTER CULTURE / SPORTING EVENT / CHOREOGRAPHY OF THE MASSES
Fieldwork Diary / Istanbul 2013 Christopher Paxton / Afd 2
Football in Turkey A force for liberalisation and modernity?
The kick-off in an Istanbul derby - between Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas - is said to not just start a football match, but also “pause life for 90 minutes” in the entire Turkey. Football is not just a hugely popular and competitive sport. It is also a major social force transcending, crisscrossing, and at times, reinforcing gender, ethnicity, ideology and other fault lines. The national and international media have widely covered corruption, violence, and other negativities surrounding Turkish football, drawing attention to the dangerous levels of football fanaticism, while the more positive consequences of the game have gone largely unnoticed. In reality, the unruly passion and antagonism of fans, the bickering of club directors and the cacophony of stadiums disguise a force with mindbogglingly complex social effects. A Universalizing and Modernizing Force? Caught between its Ottoman roots and European aspirations, Turkey is a country in search of a new identity, a familiar argument goes. If this is true, football could be one of the major forces that tip the scales in favour of Europe. In each football season, the eighteen clubs playing in the top tier of Turkish football compete to earn a place in UEFA competitions. Most people never come into contact with the Customs Union or the EU accession talks, but millions of fans live through their favourite team’s journey to succeed at the European stage – week in, week out. It should not be an overstatement to say that, for many, football is one of their country’s most important gateways to Europe. Besides playing a role in the country’s integration into Europe, football punctures parochialism in other ways. It erodes regional boundaries if not totally transgress them. Regional rivalries cannot resist the fact that football market is strictly performance and profit oriented. Players who do not do well in Istanbul end up in another part of the country (or vice versa), while there is an even bigger flow of players and coaches between different regional clubs competing in the first and second tiers. Given that Turkey is a country with relatively strong regional identities, the way football moves people around the country – and with each move alters allegiances – is remarkable. Football also affects the facts and perceptions of multiculturalism. For instance, the Istanbul three enjoy a Turkey-wide appeal. Particularly, Galatasaray is thought to have
a huge level of support in Turkey’s fragile South East among the country’s Kurdish population. In the late 1980s and the 1990s when the Kurdish insurgency peaked, the government attempted to make the most out of this social capital by hosting some Turkish cup matches in various towns in the South East of the country. Although in the hands of the state, this can turn into a tool for social engineering and manipulation of ethnic sensitivities, on its own, it is an important source of binding ties between different ethnic subgroups. (...) To be sure, football in Turkey is not bereft of reactionary views such as sexism and homophobia. But the important point to note is that football is not the primary locus of these regressive movements as in many other European countries. Unfortunately, in Turkey reactionary conservatism has other more political channels through which it can be expressed. Football and the State The flip side of the coin depicts a nasty entanglement of football and politics. The Turkish political elites’ penchant for football peaked following the 1980 coup d’état. One of the first and most eccentric moves of the junta leader turned head of state Kenan Evren was to promote Angaragucu FC to the TSL on the grounds that the capital city “deserved” to have a club in the top tier. Over the next decade, politicians of all stripes were discovering the electoral potential of football – particularly of being photographed sitting next to the chairmen of the Istanbul three – and strived to maintain a strong presence in the stadiums. Football and politics continue to intersect in more subtle, yet unethical ways, frequently breeding clientelism and corruption. Businessmen look to the post of club directorship as a way of gaining political clout and social prestige. Being in charge of a football club is akin to owning a media group; if manipulated in “the right way”, it can turn into a noteworthy amount of political capital. Also, chairmen and directors can use their status as a shield against prosecution for financial and other kinds of wrong-doing, and continue to engage in illicit economic activity with a sense of impunity. A new round of allegations concerning the government’s intervention in football picked up steam in July 2011, when the Turkish police arrested a group of influential football directors, head coaches, active footballers, and other interested parties in what turned out to be the country’s biggest sports-related scandal. Those detained faced accusations of running a criminal network to fix the results of hundreds of football matches. (...) In Turkey football continues to be a social force with a mixed record. It can be a site of ethno-religious bigotry, homophobia, but also it can be a progressive social force with a potential to advance multiculturalism, internationalism and gender equality. It has been witnessed to have a positive influence on political processes and also has become entangled in the more ugly aspects of politics. As a mitigating factor, one should also note that the fierceness of the competition between the Istanbul three and the regional representativeness of most Turkish governments have minimized the impact of the state-football interaction on any one club. To sum up, football deserves some distance and independence from political engineering. The above suggests that many of the progressive effects of football are products of its more spontaneous aspects. Football seems to have some considerable potential as a space of freedom and experimentation. An overzealous football association (which is susceptible to being influenced by the political leaderships) that tries to control every aspect of football, including its unintended consequences, not only risks strengthening the wrong kinds of social impact but also can disrupt the spontaneous good that arises from the game. ASLAN AMANI, 19 July 2013. Source: www.opendemocracy.net
6th October 2013 Turkish Superlig, KO 14:00 / Kasimpasaspor 4 Elazigspor 0
12:56
13:25
14:07
14:40
15:22
15:36
15:42
16:23
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi, 6th October 2013, 14:00 Kasimpasaspor 4 Elazigspor 0 Matchday Territories Sketch
Matchday Territories Axonometric
Long Kasimpasa Section
AKP Office
Yahya Ket Huda Cami
Meydan Kiraathanesi, Asiklar Meydan Sk
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi
Turnstiles
Istanbul Exhibition Hall, multistorey car park
Istiklal Caddesi
Long Kasimpasa Section (1)
Long Kasimpasa Section (2)
Matchday Proximities Plan. Asiklar Meydan Sk, Kasimpasa. Football field, stand, street pitch, kiraathenesi, fan’s living room
Matchday Proximities Axonometric. Asiklar Meydan Sk, Kasimpasa. Football field, stand, street pitch, kiraathenesi, fan’s living room
Improvised Football Pitches
Cihangir, Istanbul
Kasimpasa, Istanbul
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Club Shop, Fans’ Teahouses
Pasa Store, Kasimpasa
Kosebasi Kiraathanesi, Fenerbahce
Toros Kiraathanesi, Kasimpasa
Istanbul Football Stadiums
Galatasaray Turk Telecom Arena
Kasimpasa Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi
Besiktas Inonu Stadi under reconstruction
Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadi
Istanbul Football Clubs
Galatasaray SK Formed at Galatasaray High School, in Galata, Beyoglu. Galata-saray means Galata Palace. The club were the first Turkish team to win a European trophy in 2000. They share the most fiercest rivalry in Turkey with Fenerbahce. Their stadium, the Turk Telecom Arena, referred to as ‘Cehennem’ - hell. Fans booed Erdogan when he opened their new stadium in 2012. Widely supported in Turkey’s unstable South East, a largely Kurdish area.
Fenerbahce SK Fenerbahce are based in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul in Asian Istanbul. Formed in 1907. Share the most fiercest rivalry in Turkey with Galatasaray. They are the most successful club in Turkey. They hold strong ties with the Turkish military and navy. Genc Fenerbahceliler (GFB) are their largest and most organised supporter group, consisting of 9 sub groups, including Devils of GFB, Until the Grave and Bogaz Hooligans. Fans came together to protest against Erdogan at Taksim in 2013.
Besiktas JK Istanbul’s third team, formed in 1930. The site of their Inonu Stadium (under reconstruction) has a close relationship to the Bosphorus, with the Kapali end stand overlooking the sea. Here, sit the Carsi - an infamous fanatical and politicised supporter group, made up of both young and old. They hold liberal and secular views, notoriously anti-AKP. Having disbanded in 2008, the Carsi reformed unexpectedly in summer 2013 to become a central mobilising force in the anti-Erdogan protests. The Carsi’s catchphrase is ‘Carsi against everything’.
Kasimpasaspor Erdogan’s club. Kasimpasa is the neighbourhood where the Prime Minister grew up, and he can be seen sporting the club’s coloured scarf during local public addresses. Erdogan often returns to his local Meydan Kiraathanesi. The club was formed in 1921, and spent most of their history playing in the second tier of Turkish football. It was not until the early 2000s when, with the backing of Erdogan’s money, the team climbed the leagues and became successful - finishing as Turkey’s 5th best club in 2013. Fans were passive during the 2013 riots at Taksim. The denizens of Kasımpaşa take great pride and satisfaction in the accomplishments of one of their own.
Football Supporter Territories of Greater Istanbul
Kasimpasaspor Besiktas Fenerbahce Galatasaray
Football Supporter Territories of Central Istanbul
GALATASARAY Turk Telecom Arena
KASIMPASA Recep Erdogan Stadium
BESIKTAS Inonu Stadium
(under reconstruction)
FENERBAHCE Sukru Saracoglu Stadium
Kasimpasaspor Besiktas Fenerbahce Galatasaray
Istanbul Stadia
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi Figure Ground
Sukru Saracoglu Stadi Figure Ground
Turk Telecom Arena Figure Ground
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi Transport Infrastructure
Suru Saracoglu Stadi Transport Infrastructure
Turk Telecom Arena Transport Infrastructure
Building Private areas - Kasimpasaspor Ticketed private areas Ticketed public areas Unused - incidental
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi Matchday Territories
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi Matchday Territories
Building Private areas - Kasimpasaspor Ticketed private areas Ticketed public areas Unused - incidental
Recep Tayyip Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan Stadi Stadi Recep Matchday Figure Figure Ground Ground Matchday
Building Private areas - Fenerbahce Ticketed private areas Ticketed public areas Unused - incidental
Sukru Saracoglu Stadi Matchday Territories
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi Matchday Territories
Building Private areas - Kasimpasaspor Ticketed private areas Ticketed public areas Unused - incidental
Sukru Saracoglu Stadi Matchday Figure Ground
Turk Telecom Arena Matchday Territories
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi Matchday Territories
Building Private areas - Kasimpasaspor Ticketed private areas Ticketed public areas Unused - incidental
ecom Arena y Territories
y figure ground
Turk Telecom Arena Matchday Figure Ground
15th October 2013 World Cup 2014 Qualifier, KO 21:00 / Turkey 0 Netherlands 2
11:13
11:45
13:30
15:14
19:56
20:22
20:47
23:05
Football, Media & Identity EU-Turkey Relations
Today, most sporting cultures are transmitted through the means of television, radio, and print media and of course the internet. These forms of transmission mediate discourses of identity, which if the political or economic climate is right, can also be re-constructed or re-invented. This was exactly what the Turkish media did on the way to May 2000, when a Turkish club team won a cup in Europe, a continent that did not (and still does not) want Turkey as a full-time member, having delayed its candidacy for decades. The media has helped make Galatasaray’s football a symbol of Turkish collective identity demanding entrance through the gates of the EU. If Turks were competing fist to fist in the European championships, many argued, than it was time for its representation and acceptance in the political sphere. Football, then, provides an important framework for enhancing national cohesion alongside state-sanctioned strategies of integration and legitimation. Within this ideologically charged political and social context, ‘playing in the European Competition’ became a project of Europeanization for some media authorities. Minister of Sport and Youth indicated that, ‘‘the success of Galatasaray would be an important step in Turkey’s accession to Europe.” Hence, the idea of first being equal to Europe and then beating them (which would sound familiar to any nationalist discourse in the Third world) mirrored the hegemony of the pro-western and urban upper classes in terms of political agenda and mobilized state and media support for the European adventure of Galatasaray. Indeed, Gala’s journey was a unique one. Aiming to realise the opportunities of legitimacy within Europe, even the political elite did its best by canceling the domestic games of Galatasaray before its European matches, being physically present in every game of Galatasaray in European stadiums, promising financial support for sport success, mobilizing Turkish embassies at Europe, and serving private planes are only a ‘sample of favors’ from the state to improve the performance of the team on ‘European soil.’ The ultimate display of political support was when one third of all members of the Turkish parliament went to Copenhagen to watch the final game live on the stadium. The media was aware of these efforts as well. Some liberal writers were arguing that the Turkish attendance in the European competitions and European World Cup qualifications could be seen as a positive momentum for the building of a common European identity within Turkey. Those who favor Turkish membership in the EU and those who are against it interpret football and sporting events very differently and try to express their national identity accordingly. Taha Akyol. for example, highlighted that supporting Galatasaray in the UEFA matches creates in him an excitement of a ‘European Turkey’ while simultaneously challenging Europeans. Similarly, Sami Kohen argued that Galatasaray led the Turkish nation to think “you see, we are not different from them; we are part of Europe.” “Turkey - Soccer Politics” by Velihan Erdogdu
Football as a Mobilising Force
Away Fixtures for Turkish Football Clubs in European Competition 2011-2013 Caught between its Ottoman roots and European aspirations, Turkey is a country in search of a new identity, a familiar argument goes. If this is true, football could be one of the major forces that tip the scales in favour of Europe. In each football season, the eighteen clubs playing in the top tier of Turkish football compete to earn a place in UEFA competitions. Most people never come into contact with the Customs Union or the EU accession talks, but millions of fans live through their favourite team’s journey to succeed at the European stage – week in, week out. It should not be an overstatement to say that, for many, football is one of their country’s most important gateways to Europe.
Away fixtures for Istanbul’s Football Clubs in Turkish Super Lig 2013-2014 Besides playing a role in the country’s integration into Europe, football punctures parochialism in other ways. It erodes regional boundaries if not totally transgress them. Regional rivalries cannot resist the fact that football market is strictly performance and profit oriented. Players who do not do well in Istanbul end up in another part of the country (or vice versa), while there is an even bigger flow of players and coaches between different regional clubs competing in the first and second tiers. Given that Turkey is a country with relatively strong regional identities, the way football moves people around the country – and with each move alters allegiances – is remarkable.
Proposals
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadi Figure Ground
Neighbourhood + Stadi Merging Figure Ground
Grand Bazaar Figure Ground
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Grand Bazaar Stadi Figure Ground
Doubly Closed Crowd
An arena contains a crowd which is doubly closed. (...) The Arena is demarcated from the outside world. It is usually visible from far off (...) Outside, facing the city, the arena displays a lifeless wall; inside is a wall of people. The spectators turn their backs to the city. They have been lifted out of its structure of walls and streets and, for the duration of their time in the arena, they do not care about anything that happens there; they have left behind all their associations, rules and habits. Their remaining together in large numbers for a stated period of time is secure and their excitement has been promised to them. By only under one definite condition: the discharge must take place inside the arena. The seats are arranged in tiers around the arena, so that everyone can see what is happening below. The consequence of this is that the crowd is seated opposite itself. Every spectator has a thousand in front of him, a thousand heads. As long as he is there, all the others are there too; whatever excites him, excites them; and he sees it. They are seated some distance away from him, so that differing details which make up individuals of them are blurred; they all look alike and they all behave in a similar manner and he notices in them only the things which he himself is full of. Their visible excitement increases his own. There is no break in the crowd which sits like this, exhibiting itself to itself. It forms a closed ring from whcih nothing can escape. (...) this crowd is doubly closed, to the world outside and in itself.
Extract from Elias Canetti, ‘Crowds and Power’, 1960.