Can you spot anything out of the ordinary in these photos of the crowd at Fenerbahce's Turkish league clash with Manisaspor?  Istanbul's Sukru Saracoglu stadium was packed with 41,000 fans on Wednesday night - but not one of them was a man.  Turkish grounds are infamous for their febrile atmospheres, with fans often greeting visiting teams with 'Welcome to Hell' banners. And after crowd trouble in the club's 'friendly' against Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk, Fenerbahce were ordered to play two games behind closed doors.  But the club were keen to avoid playing at an empty stadium and appealed to the Turkish FA, who permitted them to bend the rules and allow only women and children into the ground - for free.  The players were so impressed by their support during the 1-1 draw that they threw flowers into the stands after the match.  'We have to thank the ladies for coming to support us,' said Fenerbahce's Joseph Yobo, who is on loan from Everton. Fenerbahce captain Alex de Sousa added: 'The memory will stay with me forever.'  Yasemin Mercil, a female member of the club's executive board, said: 'This really is a historic day. The women knew all the chants. The same anthems were sung.' The crowd's warm atmosphere provided a stark contrast to the Manchester United and Leeds fans who sullied the names of the victims of Munich and Istanbul with sick chants in Tuesday night's Carling Cup clash. They all it the beautiful game; now in Turkey football has the fans to match... |
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