Baskadia

Last year a second-tier derby match between Goztepe and Altay had to be called off after 25 minutes after a fan assaulted a player with a corner flag.

Having previously been stopped when fireworks were thrown into the away end by home fans, things came to a head when a Goztepe supporter ran on to the pitch, picked up the corner flag and used it to attack Altay goalkeeper Ozan Evrim Ozenc.

And this year alone, as well as the disgusting attack on referee Halil Umut Meler, there have been multiple instances of violence.

One saw a UEFA Conference League match between Besiktas and Swiss Lugano in Istanbul overshadowed by Besiktas fans forcing the president of the Turkish Football Federation, Mehmet Büyükekşi, out of the stadium or fears of his safety.

Another saw Bursaspor fans of shout anti-Kurdish slogans and chants ahead of their clash with Amedspor.

While fans engaged in offensive vitriol, staff and players on both teams also clashed in violent scenes before and after the match.

Videos across social media evidenced Bursaspor fans throwing knives, bullets, and water bottles onto the pitch before the match even began, while chanting racist slogans against Kurds.

After the match tensions escalated on social media when Amedspor's Twitter account accused Bursaspor 'private security supervisor, club security officer, club staff, and police officers' of physically attacking the Amedspor players in the dressing room corridors.' Tensions rumbled on for weeks.

Turkish football has long had - and still has - a problem with violence in and outside of its stadiums.

When will enough be enough?