SAMSUNSPOR'S TRAGIC DAY: THE JANUARY 20, 1989 CRASH

On January 20, 1989, which is recorded as one of the most tragic events in Turkish football history, the Samsunspor squad traveling for a league match against Malatyaspor was involved in a severe traffic accident in the Havza district of Amasya. Around 09:30, after a short break where players played snowballs while chains were fitted to the tires on the snowy and icy road, the team bus collided with a heavily loaded salt truck that had entered the wrong lane.

As a result of this catastrophic accident, Samsunspor Coach Nuri Asan, players Muzaffer Badalioglu and Mete Adanir, and bus driver Asim Ozkan lost their lives at the scene. Serbian player Zoran Tomic, who was severely injured and fell into a coma, passed away after a six-month struggle for life in Yugoslavia. The first response to the accident was provided by the Carsambaspor squad, who happened to be traveling to an away match in Diyarbakir, which prevented further casualties. Additionally, the fact that a player survived because he was loaned to Carsambaspor just before the accident and was not in the Malatya squad was noted as a striking detail of the incident.

Following this tragic event, Samsunspor could not continue the 1988-89 season and was counted as losing 3-0 by default in their remaining matches. Nevertheless, the team was declared "Honorary Champion" by a special status provided by the Turkish Football Federation and was kept in the league. However, unable to recover the next season due to the loss of their squad and psychological devastation, the Black Sea team was relegated and remained away from the Super League for 3 seasons. In memory of those who lost their lives, the team added the color "black" to its red and white colors as a symbol of mourning. To this day, every January 20, the Turkish football community continues to commemorate the names lost in this accident.

IMAGE: ONEDİO