Footage of the unsavoury scenes to have played out during the clash between Turkish sides Goztepe and Altay has gripped social media late on Sunday evening.
For those not aware, despite eyes across the globe being drawn towards Qatar for the World Cup at present, in a host of countries, football has continued to play out at club level over the course of the last couple of weeks.
One such nation comes in the form of the aforementioned Turkey, where two high-profile clubs went head-to-head in a mid-table clash in the 2nd tier on Sunday.
The matchup in question saw Goztepe play host to Altay, in a showdown between a pair of sides relegated from the Super Lig in 2021/2022.
As alluded to above, though, amid the action at the Gürsel Aksel Stadium, football soon took a back seat to a concerning series of incidents involving fans of both sides.
The latest edition of the Izmir Derby, as a result, was ultimately abandoned with time to spare.
Kicking the violence into gear, unfortunately, was a serious injury in the crowd, as a flare directed into the home seating by a member of the Altay contingent in attendance struck a Goztepe supporter in the face.
The individual in question was subsequently taken from the stands and rushed into an awaiting ambulance, bringing the action on the pitch to a complete halt.
Two others, including young children, are also understood to have been injured during the incident.
Then, amid mounting unrest throughout the stadium, the decision was soon taken that the fixture should be abandoned entirely.
This came as, incredibly, a Goztepe fan intent on revenge emerged from the stands, to make his way onto the pitch.
From here, the supporter managed to get his hands on one of the four corner flags, before sprinting to the far side of the pitch, and making use of his new-found weapon to attack Altay goalkeeper Ozan Evrim Özenç.
A swift arrest followed, with Özenç taken to hospital to treat a head wound.
Check out footage of the remarkable incident below:
Croatia 4-1 Canada: Match report, player ratings, fan reaction & more
Belgium 0-2 Morocco: Match report, player ratings, fan reaction & more
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/xlmedia/d6ef9264-396f-45e7-b4b1-627d5535badb.png)
