The electric atmosphere at the Türk Telekom Stadium turned violent Tuesday night as 17 Paris Saint-Germain supporters were arrested at the start of the UEFA Champions League match against Galatasaray S.K.
According to Le Parisien, shortly after kickoff, several fumigants were lit by PSG supporters and the Turkish police reacted by charging into the crowd much to the surprise of the Collectif Ultras Paris who organized a trip to Istanbul for the match.
The report goes on to say that supporters were searched after the match and escorted out of the stadium. Of the 17 who were arrested, some had to be hospitalized and one in particular still needed medical attention as late as Wednesday. Six supporters in total appeared in Turkish courts on Wednesday—one for lighting the fumigant and the rest for fighting with police—but fortunately, all were released.
The incident may have gone unpunished in the courts but it is not without a cost to the impacted supporters. In a tweet posted Wednesday afternoon, Collectif Ultras Paris shared a link to a crowdfunding site asking PSG fans to help pay for the thousands of Euros lost (lawyer fees, plane tickets, etc.) in the incident. As of the publication date of this article more than $1,000 has been raised.
Suite aux événements de Istanbul une cagnotte a été mise en ligne pour aider nos frères.
— Collectif Ultras Paris (@Co_Ultras_Paris) October 2, 2019
PSG Talk contributor Lee Davey was at the match filming his experience inside one of the most notoriously loud stadiums in the world. In his vlog, he does mention the incident but out of respect to the Ultras, we are not sharing the version that includes the altercation.
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