A football club based in the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakır has been fined for a Kurdish-language advertising slogan on its jerseys, according to Turkish media.
The Turkish Football Federation’s (TFF) disciplinary board fined Amedspor 110,000 lira ($2,650) after the team wore the jerseys during a September 25 match, citing a violation of sporting equipment regulations.
The board had previously issued a similar fine after the team’s match on September 21, in which they wore the same jersey.
Club officials said the TFF officially approved the use of Kurdish slogan “Koma me bona we” (Our group is for you) throughout the 2025–26 season, on September 12. Despite the approval, a federation representative verbally instructed the officials not to take to the field wearing the jerseys, before the match on September 21.
Calling the fines “unjust and unlawful,” the club said using Kurdish words in a commercial slogan is not prohibited under law and that they will challenge the decision.
The fines came amid renewed public discussion in Turkey about resolving the decades-long conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. Earlier this year the group announced it would end armed activities following a call by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan. Turkish officials described the move as a potential step toward lasting peace. Kurdish civil society groups argue that state pressure on language and cultural institutions has continued, raising concerns about the sincerity and scope of any efforts at normalization.
Kurds in Turkey are often pressured not to speak their mother tongue. Authorities frequently claim that people speaking in Kurdish are chanting slogans in support of the PKK, which has been leading an armed insurgency against Turkey’s security forces since the ’80s in a campaign that has claimed the lives of some 40,000 people.
Prohibitions against the use of Kurdish in Turkey go back many years. Kurdish language, clothing, folklore and names were banned in 1937. The words “Kurds,” “Kurdistan” and “Kurdish” were among those officially prohibited. After a military coup in 1980, speaking Kurdish was formally forbidden, even in private life.
The visibility of Kurdish on TV and in the print media was only made possible in the early 2000s thanks to significant progress in the country’s bid to become a member of the EU.
