Banned fan rents crane to watch his football team

By Stephen Barry

A Turkish football fan rented a crane to watch his team after being banned from their stadium.

Ali Demirkaya, a Denizlispor supporter, had to show up at a police station during the game to prove he wasn't in attendance. Then, he went straight from the station to rent the crane.

He got in position by the 75th minute but wasn't able to see it out until the end.

Only in Turkey 🇹🇷
A Denizlispor fan who was banned from the stadium for 12 months, hired a crane out to watch his side play this weekend! 👀 pic.twitter.com/0rZRflDP1N

— Turkwise (@turkwisee) April 28, 2018

After leading the crowd in a few chants from his vantage point over the Denizli Atatürk Stadium, police ordered him down from the crane.

1 yıl uzaklaştırma alan " Yamuk Ali " Vinçten 3lü #denizlispor @TrollFootball @tribundergi @AltLiglerTR @ciddiyettenuzak pic.twitter.com/abTZDj9MVD

— metmet (@obafehmi) April 28, 2018

"That match was very important for our team. I had to go to the police station to sign a paper to show that I am not watching the match in the stadium. Then I quickly went to rent the crane," Demirkaya told Yeni Asir, in quotes translated by Euronews.

"I paid 354 liras (€70) for the rent. I started watching from the 75th minute but police officers didn't allow me to watch until the end."

He revealed he'd also considered renting a hot-air balloon to watch the match.

Demirkaya has a year-long stadium ban, according to local reports, although they did not specify why he's banned.

Denizlispor beat Gaziantepspor 5-0 to all but secure their place in the TFF First League (the second tier of Turkish football) with one game to go.