Angry Turkish fans demand coach Montella’s sacking

A poor display against Italy, on the heels of the defeat to France, has triggered a furious reaction from Turkish supporters and put coach Vincenzo Montella’s position in serious jeopardy.

Turkey had hoped to intimidate Italy by staging the match at Bursa’s “Crocodile Arena”, but the choice backfired badly: the Italian anthem was whistled, and Montella himself was whistled from the very start of the match.

The whistles grew louder after a dreadful first half, turning into noisy demands addressed at Turkish federation president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu to sack the Italian coach — demands so aggressive that the number one of Turkish football was forced to leave the stadium.

Fan opposition to Montella, despite a dignified performance against France, dates back months. It began with a disappointing World Cup campaign: Turkey arrived full of optimism with an easy group, but defeats to Australia (2-0) and Paraguay (1-0) quickly erased hopes of progressing. After the heavy loss to Italy, Montella now risks his stay on Turkey’s bench.