Patronage and industrial football: explaining the de-politicization of Turkish soccer fandom

Abstract

Turkey has arguably one of the most passionate fan bases in the world. Yet, the political silence that permeates through the ranks of the fan bases of Istanbul’s ‘big’ clubs is puzzling as the country slowly decays into authoritarianism. What explains this silence and the surprising apolitical disposition of fans? I argue that a multi-layered de-politicization process hangs over Turkish soccer, nested within a web of clientelistic relations that stretches from the state to the clubs and fan groups. The military’s heavy-handed approach to suppressing political expressions of all sorts for several years following the 1980 coup helped ensure the de-politicization of soccer stadiums. Likewise, as major beneficiaries of state funds and sponsorships, soccer clubs sought to avoid political trouble and were actively involved in discouraging fan groups from political activism. Empirically, the article focuses primarily on the post-1980 period and the ‘big three’ of Istanbul, i.e. Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas.

Acknowledgements

I thank two anonymous reviewers and the editors for helpful feedback on the earlier draft of the paper. I thank Marie Lawrence for her research assistance. All errors remain mine.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Ugur Meleke, ‘Violence is Killing Turkish Football and No One’s Doing Anything About it’, Guardian, May 13, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/may/13/violence-killing-turkish-football-fenerbahce-besiktas-galatasaray .

2. Taş, ‘Turkey – From Tutelary to Delegative Democracy’.

3. Sack and Suster, ‘Soccer and Croatian Nationalism’, 306.

4. Brown and Walsh, ‘Football Supporters’ Relations with their Clubs’; Giulianotti and Gerrard, ‘Cruel Britannia?’.

5. Kuper, Soccer against the Enemy, 4–6.

6. Kuhn, Soccer vs. the State, 105.

7. Ibid.

8. Tuastad, ‘From Football Riot to Revolution’.

9. Hazard and Gould, ‘Three Confrontations and a Coda’, 217; Gabriel Kuhn, Soccer vs. the State, 112–6.

10. McManus, ‘Been There, Done That, Bought the T-Shirt’.

11. Brown, ‘Three Ways to Politicize Bioethics’, 44.

12. Etzioni, ‘What is Political?’, 89.

13. Brown, ‘Three Ways to Politicize Bioethics’, 44.

14. De Wilde, ‘No Polity for Old Politics?’, 561.

15. Brown and Walsh, ‘Football Supporters’ Relations with their Clubs’.

16. ‘Man Admits Ranges Match protest’, BBC News, May 15, 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6658003.stm.

17. Lee and Zhang, ‘The Power of Instability’, 1481.

18. Himmelstrand, ‘A Theoretical and Empirical Approach’, 83.

19. Jaeger, ‘Global Civil Society’, 260.

20. ‘Zbigniew Big Man for Poles’, Chicago Tribune, June 29, 1982: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/06/29/page/51/article/soccer.

21. Tachau and Heper, ‘The State, Politics, and the Military in Turkey’; Demirel, ‘The Turkish Military’s Decision’.

22. Kaplan, ‘Din-u Devlet All Over Again?’.

23. Yeșilada, ‘Problems of Political Development’, 354.

24. Demirel, ‘Lessons of Military Regimes and Democracy’; Mousseau, ‘Democracy, Human Rights and Market Development’.

25. Kaplan, ‘Din-u Devlet All Over Again?’.

26. Mousseau, ‘Democracy, Human Rights and Market Development’; Yeșilada, ‘Problems of Political Development’.

27. Uzun, ‘Mayfa Ligi’, 421.

28. Coban, ‘Futbol ve Toplumsal Muhalefet’, 75.

29. Kuhn, Soccer vs. the State, 18–19.

30. Onis, ‘The Political Economy of Islamic Resurgence’, 752.

31. Ibid., 14.

32. Bozkurt, ‘Neoliberalism with a Human Face’, 384.

33. Ayata, ‘Patronage, Party, and State’.

34. Keyman, ‘Modernization, Globalization, and Democratization’; Meyersson, ‘Islamic Rule and the Empowerment of the Poor’; Marschall et al., ‘Does Housing Create Votes?’.

35. Aslan-Akman, ‘The 2011 Parliamentary Elections’.

36. Karadag, ‘Neoliberal Restructuring in Turkey’, 11.

37. Ibid., 13.

38. Marschall et al., ‘Does Housing Create Votes?’; Meyersson, ‘Islamic Rule and the Empowerment of the Poor’.

39. Uzun, ‘Mayfa Ligi’, 421.

40. Smart, ‘Not Playing Around’, 114.

41. Giulianotti, ‘Supporters, Followers, Fans and Flaneurs’, 5.

42. Ibid., 6.

43. Brown and Walsh, ‘Football Supporters’ Relations with their Clubs’, 89.

44. Aydin et al., ‘Endustriyel Futbol’, 299.

45. Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 101; Althusser, On the Reproduction of Capitalism.

46. Batuman, ‘The View from the Stands’, 687.

47. Kytö, ‘We are the Rebellious Voice of the Terraces’, 80.

48. ‘How Was Galatasaray Formed?’, Galatasaray Official Website, http://www.galatasaray.org/en//tarih/pages/how_was_gs_formed.php.

49. ‘History’, Fenerbahce Official Website, http://www.fenerbahce.org/eng/detay.asp?ContentID=3.

50. Emrence, ‘From Elite Circles to Power Networks’, 249.

51. Ibid.; Dorsey and Sebastian, ‘The Politics of Indonesian and Turkish Soccer’.

52. Zelyurt, ‘Turkiye’de Futbolun Tarihine Bir Bakis’, 1767.

53. Ibid., 1768.

54. Ibid., 1769; Kılıç, Politik Goller, 24.

55. Sumer, Turkiye’de Spor Federasyonlarinin Tarihsel Gelisimi, 155–6; Zelyurt, ‘Turkiye’de Futbolun Tarihine Bir Bakis’, 1772.

56. Ibid., 1774.

57. Sen, ‘Futbolun Degisen’, 97; Cigdem et al., ‘Futbol Uzerine Konusmak…’, 335.

58. Ibid., 333; Kozanoglu, Turkiye’de Futbol, 230; Zelyurt, ‘Turkiye’de Futbolun Tarihine Bir Bakis’, 1772; Sen, ‘Futbolun Degisen’, 97.

59. ‘Bakanlik’tan Galatasaray’a Cevap!’ Milliyet, July 25, 2014, http://www.milliyet.com.tr/bakanlik-tan-galatasaray-a-cevap--galatasaray-1917113-skorerhaber.

60. ‘Bakanliktan Fikret Orman’a Yalanlama’, TRT Haber, September 27, 2014, http://www.trthaber.com/haber/spor/bakanliktan-fikret-ormana-yalanlama-145946.html.

61. ‘Bankaya Degil, TFF’ye Gelin’, Milliyet, August 25, 2014, http://www.milliyet.com.tr/-bankaya-degil-tff-ye-gelin----1930401-skorerhaber.

62. ‘Turkish Media Boss Reduced to Tears by PM Erdogan, New Recording Reveals’, Today’s Zaman, March 7, 2014, http://www.todayszaman.com/national_turkish-media-boss-reduced-to-tears-by-pm-erdogan-new-recording-reveals_341490.html.

63. Emrence, ‘From Elite Circles to Power Networks’; Battini, ‘Reshaping the National Bounds Through Fandom’.

64. Ibid.

65. Carsi translates from Turkish as ‘marketplace’ or ‘downtown’.

66. McManus, ‘Been There, Done That, Bought the T-Shirt’.

67. Batuman, ‘The View from the Stands’; Kytö, ‘We are the Rebellious Voice of the Terraces’.

68. McManus, ‘Been There, Done That, Bought the T-Shirt’, 7.

69. Ibid., 6–7; Kytö, ‘We are the Rebellious Voice of the Terraces’, 80.

70. Batuman, ‘The View from the Stands’, 654.

71. McManus, ‘Been There, Done That, Bought the T-Shirt’, 12.

72. Batuman, ‘The View from the Stands’.

73. McManus, ‘Been There, Done That, Bought the T-Shirt’, 12.

74. Joe Parkinson and Emre Peker, ‘Turkish Court Tries Alleged Coup Plotters: Move Against President’s Opponents Puts Dozens of Soccer Fans on Trial’, The Wall Street Journal, December 16, 2014, http://www.wsj.com/articles/turkish-fans-of-besiktas-soccer-club-face-coup-charges-1418730926.

75. Bayraktar, ‘Endustriyel Futbola’, 59.

76. Alacam, ‘Kulubumuz Isletme Degil, Bir Kulturdur’, Sol Haber, September 30, 2013, http://haber.sol.org.tr/spor/kulubumuz-isletme-degil-bir-kulturdur-haberi-80344.

77. ‘Vamos Bien’, Rebel Ultras, n.d., http://rebelultras.com/latest-news/europe/vamos-bien.

78. Faruk Ayyildiz, ‘Cozum Bagimsiz Taraftar Kulturunde’, Evrensel, November 20, 2014, http://www.evrensel.net/haber/97904/cozum-bagimsiz-taraftar-kulturunde.

79. ‘Neyi Savunuyoruz’, Sol Acik Taraftar Grubu, November 7, 2014, http://www.solacik.org/neyi-savunuyoruz.

80. Berivan Tapan, ‘Tribunlerin Siyasi Renkleri’, Yeni Aktuel, November 29, 2013, http://www.aktuel.com.tr/ozel/2013/11/29/tribunlerin-siyasi-renkleri.

81. ‘Sol Acik’tan Aziz Yildirim’a Cok Sert Mektup’, Cumhuriyet, May 22, 2015, http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/futbol/282513/Sol_acik_tan_Aziz_Yildirim_a_cok_sert_mektup.html.

82. Passolig is the new e-ticketing system that the government introduced collecting personal data. Criticisms have mounted to suggest that the government might be trying to clamp down on societal dissent: ‘Is Turkey Targeting Soccer Hooligans or Collecting Names? Fans are Suspicious’, Christian Science Monitor, October 5, 2014, http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/1005/Is-Turkey-targeting-soccer-hooligans-or-collecting-names-Fans-are-suspicious.

83. ‘Carsi Agac Kesilmesine, Besiktas Yonetimi “Gezi” ye Karsi: Eyleme Katilan Kisilerin Uyelik Basvurusu Bekletiliyor!’ T24, November, 15, 2014, http://t24.com.tr/haber/carsi-agac-kesilmesine-besiktas-yonetimi-geziye-karsi-eyleme-katilan-kisilerin-uyelik-basvurusu-bekletiliyor,277228.

84. Uzun, ‘Mayfa Ligi’, 428.

85. Ibid., 427–8.

86. ‘Seyrantepe’de Protestolari Atesleyen Konusma’, Milliyet, January 18, 2011, http://spor.milliyet.com.tr/seyrantepe-de-protestolari-atesleyen-konusma-/spor/spordetay/17.01.2011/1340508/default.htm.

87. ‘Protesters at New Stadium “Ungrateful,” Turkish PM Says’, Hurriyet Daily News, January 16, 2011, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=erdogan-says-protests-at-galatasaray-stadium-unfair-2011-01-16.

88. For example, the Youth and Sports General Directorate’s (Genclik ve Spor Genel Mudurlugu) statement on the status of Galatasaray and Besiktas’ stadiums is instructive: http://gsb.gov.tr/HaberDetaylari/1/22031/bakanliktan-besiktas-ve-galatasaray-spor-kuluplerine-aciklama.aspx.

89. Bayraktar, ‘Endustriyel Futbola’, 59–60.

90. ‘Devlet Kuluplerin Milyonluk Vergi Borcunu Siliyor’, Milliyet, June 4, 2014, http://www.milliyet.com.tr/devlet-kuluplerin-milyonluk-vergi-besiktas-galatasaray-bursaspor-eskisehirspor-gaziantepspor-1892434-skorerhaber.

91. ‘Galatasaray’a 41.6 Milyon Liralik Vergi Borcu’, Goal, December 12, 2014, http://www.goal.com/tr/news/454/türkiye-haberleri/2014/12/12/7028712/galatasaraya-416-milyon-liralık-vergi-borcu.

92. ‘3 Buyukler Tarih Olacak’, Sabah, January 1, 2015, http://www.sabah.com.tr/spor/futbol/2015/01/01/3-buyukler-tarih-olacak.

93. Kadri Gursel, ‘“Uc Buyukler” Duzenine Operasyon’, Milliyet, July 7, 2011, http://www.milliyet.com.tr/-uc-buyukler-duzenine-%20operasyon/dunya/dunyayazardetay/07.07.2011/1411241/default.htm; Huseyin Gulerce, ‘Futbolun Dokunulmazlari’, Zaman, July 6, 2011, http://www.zaman.com.tr/yazar.do?yazino=1154891; Mesut Karip, ‘Der Spiegel’in Yorumu: “Fenerbahce’ye Yapilan Siyasi Bir Operasyon!”’, Milliyet, September 8, 2011, http://www.milliyet.com.tr/mesut-karip-der-spiegel-in-yorumu---fenerbahce-ye-yapilan-siyasi-bir-operasyon---324828-blog-yazar-yazisi.