Nine Kurdish seasonal farmworkers were injured in an attack in western Turkey that they said was sparked by their wearing the jerseys of Amedspor, a football club closely associated with Kurdish identity, the Artı Gerçek news website reported.
The attack took place September 5 in the Nilüfer district of northwestern Bursa province, where the workers had traveled to harvest figs.
Kadri Esen, co-mayor of Silvan, a district in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, said Monday that he had met with the workers at Silvan State Hospital. He said they told him villagers in Bursa had attacked them because they were wearing Amedspor jerseys.
The workers suffered various injuries, according to Artı Gerçek. Most are university students who work as seasonal farmworkers.
Esen described the incident as a racist attack and called on authorities to identify those responsible and take measures to prevent similar attacks.
It was not immediately clear whether police or prosecutors had opened an investigation.
Amedspor is based in Diyarbakır, the largest city in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast. The club has developed a large following among Kurds and has repeatedly faced nationalist and anti-Kurdish hostility at away matches.
Tensions surrounding the club have previously erupted in Bursa. During an Amedspor match against Bursaspor in March 2023, objects were thrown onto the field and nationalist and anti-Kurdish slogans were heard from the stands. Seven people were detained after the violence, and three public officials were suspended pending an investigation.
The Bursa attack follows several other reported attacks involving Kurdish seasonal workers and Amedspor supporters in recent weeks.
Some 70 Kurdish seasonal workers harvesting hazelnuts in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak were reportedly attacked on August 23. Another group of Kurdish seasonal workers reported an attack in nearby Düzce the following day.
In a separate incident on August 30, three men from Diyarbakır were attacked in the northeastern province of Bayburt after one of them was seen wearing an Amedspor jersey. One of the men suffered multiple fractures to his nose and filed a criminal complaint.
A woman wearing an Amedspor jersey also reported being verbally harassed in the Black Sea city of Trabzon on August 30.
