Fans of Amedspor, a football team representing Turkey’s largest Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır (Amed), on Sunday celebrated a 1-0 win against Kastamonuspor, a team from northern Turkey’s conservative-leaning Kastamonu. Following historic outbreaks of racist violence against Amedspor fans, Hasan Baltacı, the Mayor of Kastamonu, surprised the Kurdish community by sharing a message calling for restraint and welcoming the team for their away g ame.
Jubilant scenes filled the streets in Diyarbakır, with fans watching the game on screens erected solely for the occasion. For residents, Amedspor represents not only the city’s sporting achievements but also a wider identification with the Kurdish movement. On 31 March, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) secured significant local victories across the country, marking a gain for Kurdish representation, while the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) won polls in Diyarbakır.
As anticipation for the Kastamonuspor-Amedspor game ramped up on Saturday, Mayor Hasan Baltacı made an unexpected public announcement: “Let us not forget that sport is love, friendship and brotherhood. For this reason, Diyarbakır representative Amedspor is our rival in the field and our guest in our city.”
Previous incidents of racist violence against the Kurdish team have included mass arrests, mob violence and provocation based on the ridicule of Kurds subjected to state violence during the 1990s at the height of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict.