The biggest fight in Turkish football history didn’t involve Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Trabzonspor, or Galatasaray. Surprisingly, it was between Kayserispor and Sivasspor during a match on September 17, 1967.
The tension between the two cities wasn’t just about sports. For 20 years, Sivas residents were dissatisfied because trade in Sivas was dominated by people from Kayseri. There had been incidents involving other teams from these cities, but the major event erupted during the Sivasspor vs. Kayserispor match.
The story of this match goes as follows:
A large number of Sivasspor fans arrived in Kayseri on 40 buses, 20 minibuses, and 1 train. The already tense atmosphere escalated when Sivasspor fans didn’t pay for their meals before the match.
The situation worsened when Oktay Oktan scored a goal for Kayserispor in the 20th minute, making it 1-0. The celebration by Kayserispor fans led to a clash with Sivasspor fans, resulting in two people being trampled to death.
Tensions peaked during halftime, leading to the match being called off. Fans trying to leave the stadium pushed against the exit gate, which opened inwards. This resulted in 41 people dying from suffocation or being crushed, and over 600 injured.
With so many injured and not enough vehicles to transport them to hospitals, coal trucks were used for transport.
The violence spilled into the streets. Shops owned by people from Kayseri living in Sivas were looted, and vehicles with license plates from Kayseri (plate number 38) were targeted.
Following the incident, Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel canceled his visit to Russia and broadcasted a message, hoping that such an incident would remain unique in our football history. The situation was so severe that the governor and police chief were ordered by the Ministry of Interior to resign immediately.
After the incident, both teams were given a 17-match stadium ban, and their fixtures were arranged so they wouldn’t play against each other for years.
This tragic event was recorded in history as the 1967 Kayseri Stadium Disaster.