Cenk Tosun and Wout Weghorst had to deal with drop-kicking pitch invader after Dele Alli scores on his debut out in Turkey overnight.
Besiktas were playing away in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Sunday night, in a game that had plenty of goals but like the Premier League, some very controversy calls made too, with five goals and a sending off in the 90 minutes.
Alli nets his first goal for his new club, following that amazing welcome we saw on social media, as they won 3-2 away, but chaos broke out late on, following Marlon Xavier’s dismissal in injury time.
At the full time whistle, players from both teams were involved in heated debates, with the referee also involved, when a fan ran onto the pitch and landed a flying kick on a number of players.
Midfielder Salih Ucan, former Everton forward Tosun and on loan Burnley striker Weghorst were on the end of a flying kick right into the side of them.
A fan just invaded the pitch and gave a flying kick to Weghorst…😭
pic.twitter.com/4qPeHIZJv3— george (@StokeyyG2) September 4, 2022
The incident then saw a second player handed a red card, with Besiktas’ Josef de Souza given his marching orders after the final whistle for throwing the fan to the ground.
Speaking after the match, Besiktas vice-president Engin Baltaci was reeling with the decision to show a red card to the Brazilian.
“We want no violence on the pitch, even if it is isolated,” Baltaci said, “While a fan running 80 meters kicked our players, our player Josef, who wanted to protect his friends, was shown a red card. This is unacceptable.
“Ankaragucu management welcomed and hosted us well… I will not comment on referee decisions, commentators will.
“Josef’s red card needs to be revoked. We will insist on this. Who would have received a red card if Josef had intervened in the attacker to protect the referee?”
“We bring football players from Europe. If we let star players live in these environments, can we keep them in our country?”
➡️@Besiktas fans’ group @forzabesiktas releases video footage of the hooligan who attacked Beşiktaş players. @UEFA’s rules are so clear ⬇️
“Zero tolerance to violence” 🟥
— UEFAcom.DE (@UEFAcomm_de) September 5, 2022
Dele, who had already hinted at a return to form on his debut, found the net to make it 2-1, after the visitors went behind early in the game.
Fellow former Premier League flop Georges-Kevin N’Koudou scored a late winner from the penalty spot before it all broke down in injury time. Even Federico Macheda made an appearance for the hosts.
Dele had signed for Everton in January from Tottenham, but he completed a temporary switch to Turkey after being told he was free to find a new club. His seven months at Goodison Park saw him make just one start, playing 13 times.
The 26-year-old was part of England’s World Cup squad just four years ago and was previously named PFA Young Player of the Year twice but has seen his form dip perilously in recent years.
Everton manager Frank Lampard also warned Dele to step up his efforts in training after letting the midfielder move to Besiktas.
He said: “I do have great empathy for the trajectory of his career in a sense because it is clear to see. I don’t have to dress that up in any way.
“Having worked closely with him for a period I have to say he really does need to understand the relation of training and focus to what that means to performance at the highest level.
“It’s not just the Dele story, I would say that to any player because it’s the only thing I know. I wasn’t a saint, but I know what training can do and focus can do, and that’s something he really has to take on board.”
Besiktas have an option to sign Dele Alli permanently, but he will have a year left on his Everton contract if they do not make that move.
Dele Alli with his first goal for Besiktas!pic.twitter.com/I1uWgAv1Hq
— R.D. Football Scout (@RdScouting) September 4, 2022
Twitter users had plenty to say as Tosun and Weghorst deal with drop-kicking pitch invader after Alli scores on his debut…
@SamuelPugh25: Turkish football 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@ozgur_tosun: Federico Macheda and Dele Alli on the same pitch in Turkey. Sounds like a Football Manager save.
@musburkiraz: We have become disgraced, give the world such a punishment so that such things will not happen again
@emnblt: Captain @souza5 just stopped the attacker to protect his teammates and got a red card here. How about that ? #ANKvBJK #JosefinKartıİptalOlacak
@canokar: Ankaragücü allowed fans to come onto the pitch and attack Beşiktaş players. Josef de Souza protected his teammates and neutralized the threat. He was given a red card. That card has to be rescinded and if it isn’t, @UEFA has to step in. What if the fan had a knife?
@Batheko: Yet souza sent off for this reaction..
@aerkam21: And That boy who attecked our players has been released today. 👏🏻👏🏻 Welcome to Turkey.
@CaniSports: 17h: So a fan just ran onto the pitch in the Besiktas game, sprinted across half the pitch and fly-kicked Weghorst in his back. Turkish football never fails to dissapoint.
@BekisKadir: You disgraced us to the world @TFF_Org. Shame on you! You didn’t take us to the stadium to take precautions, you couldn’t take care of an imbecile? Resign and let this league see the light of day!! #tffistifa
@Bozkir_kartali: You have disgraced Turkish football to the world. Give the necessary punishments. Do not destroy the reputation of Turkish football!!! @TFF_Org
@godfatherbjk: We have become a disgrace to the world again. The men were shocked to see Josef get a red card.
— Out Of Context Football (@nocontextfooty) September 4, 2022
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