Beşiktaş files application to UEFA for Twente match

Beşiktaş, which will play against Twente in the 7th week of the UEFA Europa League, has applied to UEFA to request that the match not be played in the Dutch city of Enschede.

The application stated, "We do not want to play the UEFA Europa League match against FC Twente in the city of Enschede, where Mayor Roelof Bleker himself has stated that security cannot be guaranteed."

In a statement regarding the matter, the Black-and-White club said, "Enschede Mayor Roelof Bleker, who decided not to allow our fans to attend the UEFA Europa League match that our Football A Team will play against FC Twente at the FC Twente Stadion on January 30, 2025, stated in an official letter sent to us on December 20, 2024, following a meeting held on December 17, 2024, with the participation of our Vice Presidents Onur Göçmez and Mete Vardar, as well as officials from UEFA, FC Twente, and the Enschede Municipality, that he has not changed his decision, citing the behavior of our fans in European matches played in previous periods as the reason for his decision.

Although our Vice Presidents Göçmez and Vardar committed during the meeting held on December 17, 2024, that we would take all kinds of security measures and fully implement every additional measure requested by local authorities as well as the requested ticketing procedures, we characterize Bleker's insistence on his arbitrary decision as discrimination.

We do not want to play the UEFA Europa League match against FC Twente in the city of Enschede, where Mayor Roelof Bleker himself has stated that security cannot be guaranteed.

As Beşiktaş JK, we hereby inform the public that we have applied to UEFA for the FC Twente-Beşiktaş UEFA Europa League match to be played in another city or country where the fans of both clubs can take their places in the stands in a friendly and safe manner."

News Source: İHA