Men Banned From Soccer Games

TURKEY has come up with a radical solution for tackling crowd violence at football matches � banning MEN from the stands. Under new rules approved by Turkey's football association, only women and children under 12 will be admitted to matches involving teams whose fans have been sanctioned for unruly behaviour. And incredibly, they can get into games for FREE. Yesterday, women formed long lines around Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu stadium, some carrying babies in the team's colours, for an opportunity to see their club in action. More than 41,000 women and children filled the stadium to watch the Istanbul side play Manisapor. The visiting team were greeted by applause instead of the usual jeering. Yasemin Mercil, a female member of Fenerbahce's executive board, said: "This really is an historic day. For the first time in the world, only women and children will watch a game. "The women know all the chants. The same anthems will be sung." The women-only rule was imposed after Fenerbahce fans invaded the pitch during a friendly against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim is among 30 suspects being held over the case and the club faces the threat of being stripped of its title and possible relegation. It also lost its chance to play in this season's Champions League because of a match-fixing investigation.