Ladies Night at the stadiums

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Turkish Football Federation announced a historical decision to answer increasing soccer hooliganism; let all women and children under the age of 12 watch the game and ban male fans. Previously, hooliganism during soccer games would be punished by the federation with a no-fans game where the offending club would be forced to play their games in an empty stadium.

The first time the new rule was implemented by the Turkish Football Federation at Manisaspor - Fenerbahce match last week. Fenerbahce was banned as a result of violence during a friendly againist Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk in July.

The game was originally to be played in front of an empty stadium, until TFA came up with the brilliant idea of letting the ladies in for free. 41,000 ladies turned up. The vibe in the stadium was certainly different than normal, with less curse words and no crowd violence. The visiting team Manisaspor was greeted with applause rather than jeers. Players from both sides threw flowers at their lady fans before kickoff.

An all-female police force monitored the fans during the game. No cases of unruly behaviour was reported which was hardly a surprise.