Protests continue against the 110,000 Turkish Liras (some 2,500 euros) fine imposed on Amedspor after the team took the field in the match against Sakaryaspor with the Kurdish slogan “Koma me bona we” (“Our group is your gain”) displayed on their jerseys as part of a supermarket group’s advertisement. The Kurdish advertisement marked a first in Turkey, having been approved by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF). However, the Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) penalized the club on the grounds of “violating equipment regulations.” Speaking to Mezopotamya Agency, Amedspor president Burç Baysal strongly criticized the decision. Baysal said that before the match, officials attempted to force them to cover the Kurdish advertisement with black tape, but they objected and refused. He emphasized that in their sponsorship application, they had officially submitted through the proper channels all the visuals, the brand name, and the slogans to be used, and that these had been formally approved.
Baysal described the decision as unlawful and stated: “Our lawyers have prepared the defense on this matter. We are taking the case to arbitration. We consider this penalty unacceptable. We are in full possession of all the official documents. A slogan that was approved by the Turkish Patent Institute about seven or eight years ago, and also approved by the Turkish Ministry of Trade, cannot simply be deemed unacceptable by the boards of the football federation. For us, such a decision is null and void. Therefore, we will pursue the legal struggle to the very end and will appeal to all the necessary authorities.”
The point reached in intolerance toward Kurdish
Baysal described the decision as “the point reached in intolerance toward Kurdish in this country,” and added: “When you look at Kurdish, it is in a position where it cannot even be expressed in parliament. For us, intolerance toward the second most widely spoken mother tongue among a population of nearly 80 million is truly unacceptable. We do not consider it right to make comments about the mother tongue or to impose bans related to it. On the sports field, we are not trying to deliver any different message. These are entirely the expressions used by a commercial brand itself.”
These are not things that can be accepted
Baysal also said that a serious effort is being made to block Amedspor’s success: “The fact that penalties are imposed on expressions that have already been approved by official authorities is one of the obstacles placed before Amedspor on its path to success. When you look at it, they are trying once again to punish us through their own boards, based on claims raised by the supporters of a few parties whose base is not even as large as Amedspor’s stadium crowd, without even knowing what they are permitting. These are not things that can be accepted.”
We will continue to resist
Baysal pointed out that advertisements have been permitted in many languages, especially in English, and underlined that the penalty was imposed on the grounds of an alleged “violation of sporting equipment regulations.” He said: “Just as all institutions receive authorization for their sponsorship, Amedspor has also obtained these permits with its visuals and written inventory. The way this has been brought up does not reflect good faith. Of course, when you look at us, we are a sports club, an organization striving to play football in competitions. But when you look at Amedspor, what it has become identified with is its language and its identity. For that reason, we will not accept intolerance toward our mother tongue. We are very strong in resisting this, and we will continue to resist.”