Turkish footballers have hailed the beautiful game after playing a league match to a stadium packed with only women and children, free from violence and pitch invasions.
A 40,000 crowd made up entirely of women and children watched a Turkish league match after sports authorities hit on a novel way to deal with crowd trouble at top flight side Fenerbahce.
Media reports on Wednesday said the league match against Manisaspor passed off without incident at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul after men were barred from attending.
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The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said the decision had been made to bar men "to remind supporters of the beauty and values of football".
Fenerbahce had been in hot water in July after fans went on the rampage at a friendly game with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
The TFF responded by fining the club and forcing it to play its matches behind closed doors before coming up with a more unusual solution for Tuesday's match.
The women and children wore the team's navy and yellow jerseys and took part in well-organised chants to provide a bright atmosphere that went down well with players of both teams.
They were searched before the game by an all-women police squad, although Turkish media reported that at least one man, disguised under a headscarf and women's clothing, made it in to the stadium.
"This match will go down in the annals of football," commented a female sports reporter from Hurriyet daily, who was in the stands.
The game finished in a 1-1 draw, leaving Fenerbahce top of the Turkish league table.
