Fenerbahce Fan Murdered After Turkish Derby

Fenerbahce fan Burak Yildirim (left) was killed after the derby with Galatasaray (Photo: Cihan, Ozgur Gunes)

There's been some very sad news out of Istanbul this morning following this weekend's derby clash between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, which Fenerbahce won 2-1.  A 20 year old Fenerbahce fan, Burak Yildirim, was stabbed to death at a bus stop while returning home after the match.

According to Anadolu Agency, Turkey's state-run news agency, Yildirim, who was wearing a Fenerbahce shirt, was stabbed in the heart by two individuals in Galatasaray garb.  He was taken immediately to Bezmialem Vakif University Hospital, but died shortly thereafter despite medical efforts.  Anadolu suggests that Police have CCTV footage of the attack and are pursuing those responsible after identifying them.  Other sources say that the assailants remain unknown at this time.

Fenerbahce released a statement on it's website expressing condolences to Yildirim's family.  Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Suat Kılıç, stated on his Twitter feed that he the killers will be captured soon, he also that  “The death of one person is the death of all humanity."

The Puddle expresses heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Yildirim and the entire Fenerbahce fan community.  Hopefully the Turkish police will able to quickly track down the people responsible for this.  Supporting your club should not be a death sentence just because some criminals choose to masquerade as fans and perpetrate violence in the name of football. 

EPL After Hours Dealing: Stoke Sign Owen, Chelsea Make a Sale

Michael Owen has signed with Stoke City (BBC)

The transfer window for clubs in England officially ended last Friday, but there were still a couple bits of business to be done.  The end of the window did not exclude a club from signing an out of contract player, nor did it prohibit teams from selling to a club where the window is still open in that country.  Both of those things have taken place in the last couple of days.

The headline grabbing news has to do with former England/Liverpool and Newcastle great Michael Owen.  Owen was on a free transfer after ending his time with Manchester United, and waited to see if a club would pick him up in the transfer window.  When that didn't materialize, speculation became rampant that he might return to Liverpool, who famously missed out on US International Clint Dempsey on deadline day.

In the end, Owen penned a one year deal with Stoke City.  He revealed on twitter that talks with Stoke had been ongoing, so the move to Potters wasn't a surprise.  The former star striker couldn't get his career back off the ground in the three injury riddled seasons at Manchester United.  He made only three appearances last year, and hasn't played in a competitive match since last November.

Chelsea were also back in the headlines just a couple of days after being defeated by Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.  They sold midfielder Raul Meireles to Fenerbache, who in turn signed him on a four year deal.  Rumor has it that the transfer fee was around 8 million pounds.  

Meireles was said to be unhappy at Chelsea last year after Andre Villas-Boas, whom he had worked with at Porto, was sacked by the club.  After arriving in Turkey, he stated that former Liverpool teammate Dirk Kuyt had been instrumental in convincing him to come to Istanbul.