Following the defeat by 2-4 of their team, the Turkish players ignited a fight in the tunnel on the way to the locker rooms. This might cost the Turkish team their participation in the World Cup 2010 qualifyers, Blatter says.

Defender Stephane Grichting was taken to Acibadem Hospital following the scuffle, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Swiss player Benjamin Huggel kicked Turkey trainer Mehmet Ozdilek as the two teams entered the tunnel after the game, but it was unclear what prompted Huggel. Turkey’s Alpay Ozalan then tried to kick Huggel in retaliation, instead making contact with a Switzerland player in front of him.

Huggel then hit Ozalan on the back of the head and the two players wrestled each other to the ground, after which other players joined in.

The fight followed what was a very tensioned match, tensions that started even before the game, with the checkout at the customs. It appears that the Turkish custom officers checked the Swiss team even with dogs for eventual drugs in their luggage.

The Swiss president of FIFA, Blatter, said that their will be consequences, not ruling out even expulsion of Turkey from the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Turkish officials, for their part, were angry at Blatter and said that they were not to blame alone for the post-match scuffles seemingly involving players, team officials and security guards.

“Football is to create understanding between teams and nations. Neither of that happened (in Istanbul),” Blatter said.

“It can not be tolerated that a team is unable to celebrate and that the players must leave the pitch like thieves. Fair play was trampled upon.”

Let’s hope that a decision in this will not attract the expulsion of the Turkish team, a team that reached the final-four in Japan/Koreea in 2002. But, a warning signal should be fired since it appears that the violence in football is reaching an alarming rate, even without the all-to-well-known English hooligans being present.

Source: expatica.com, seattlepi.com