The bitter rivalry between lower league Turkish teams Amedspor and Sakaryaspor took a sickening turn when one player reportedly took a razor blade onto the pitch and repeatedly slashed at opponents.
Amedspor, who hail from the majority Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, were hosting Sakaryaspor in the TFF Second League, Turkey’s third tier, when the shocking scenes played out at the weekend.
Footage shown on Turkish TV appears to show Amedspor player Mansur Calar with a razor blade in his hand as the teams lined up before the game.
After the customary pre-match handshakes were over, he then appeared to slash at Sakaryaspor’s Ferhat Yazgan from behind, before allegedly going for his throat.
Yazgan later took to Instagram to show cuts to his neck, while images shared online also purportedly show injuries inflicted on other Sakaryaspor players.
"These football players who put [sic] the field, TFF, I hope you'll see them," Yazgan wrote.
The game ended 1-1 after both teams converted penalties, but the shocking reports of the razor attack have dominated the sports headlines in Turkey.
Amedspor have rejected the claims, calling them a slur on their reputation.
The two teams and their fans have clashed in the past, with Amedspor posting footage back in October when the pair met in the reverse fixture, allegedly showing attacks on players and officials.
They also posted video showing military operations broadcast on the giant screens at Sakaryaspor’s stadium ahead of that match, fueling anger amid longstanding tensions between Kurdish groups and other parts of Turkey.