Baku-APA. Two suspects, who were detained on Tuesday over Saturday's armed attack on the Fenerbahçe team bus, have been released on probation, APA reports quoting todays’zaman.
Two cousins, identified only by their initials, N.S. (38) and E.A. (27), were detained in the Sürmene district of Trabzon province after they had been seen in video footage acquired by the police.
The bus carrying Fenerbahçe players to the Trabzon airport was attacked on the Sürmene-Araklı highway after the team's 5-1 win over Black Sea side Çaykur Rizespor. The side window of the bus was completely shattered and the windshield was damaged in five different places. The bus driver was hospitalized with injuries sustained during the assault, but none of the Fenerbahçe players were injured and received a police escort to reach the airport.
According to a statement by the Trabzon Governor's Office on Tuesday, one of the suspects tailed the bus carrying Fenerbahçe players to the Trabzon airport after their Super League match with Çaykur Rizespor on Saturday night and informed the suspected gunman when the team was close to Sürmene.
The other suspect then opened fire on the team bus and left the bus driver Ufuk Kıran wounded.
Following the attack, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) decided to suspend the Spor Toto Super League for a week. TFF head Yıldırım Demirören announced the decision during a press conference late on Monday and said the incident was a terrorist attack targeting not only Fenerbahçe but also Turkish sports, adding that the suspension of the league for one week was a unanimous decision agreed by all the clubs.
The Fenerbahçe football club also announced that it would not take the field for the remaining eight matches in the Spor Toto Super League until the perpetrators of the armed attack on the team's bus are found and all of the details of the attack are brought to light.
The motive of the attack is not yet clear. But the enmity between Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor that first emerged with a match-fixing scandal is believed to be the main reason behind the incident. In July 2011, Fenerbahçe was implicated in a match-fixing scandal and Trabzonspor, who had finished that season as runner-up, asked to be handed Fenerbahçe's domestic championship trophy. Trabzonspor's efforts have not yet yielded positive results and the bad blood between the two clubs has grown stronger and spread onto the pitch.
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