Dusan Vlahovic and Milan Skriniar: It’s Always Derby Time, Even in Turkey—A Brawl and Insults in Italian
Dusan Vlahovic in a Juventus jersey, Milan Skriniar in an Inter jersey: a forward and a defender who have faced off numerous times in one of the most passionate “derbies” in Europe and the world—the Italian derby. In the meantime, however, they’ve both moved to Turkey, and on Saturday they played in another, more literal “derby”: the Istanbul derby between Besiktas—the Serbian striker’s current team—and Fenerbahce, where the Slovak defender plays. However, relations between the two are far from improved, as evidenced by a brawl involving them that immediately went viral.
Vlahovic, in a match in which he also scored, was once again marked by the “usual” Skriniar (who also scored a goal). The entire Istanbul derby was marked by constant bickering between the two, culminating in a head-to-head clash and a shove that nearly turned into a chokehold. In the latter incident, it was the former Juventus player who ended up on the ground, after which he openly insulted his rival—whom he’s known since his Inter days—in Italian. The lip-reading captured by Turkish TV was unmistakable in this regard, though the words spoken by the two cannot be repeated.
The final result favored Besiktas, which prevailed 2-1: Skriniar had given Fenerbahçe the lead in the 26th minute, but Yilmaz’s equalizer in the 38th minute and Vlahovic’s decisive goal in the 73rd minute turned the derby around. For the Serbian striker, this is his fourth goal in three Super Lig matches—a tally that confirms his extraordinary form following his turbulent departure from Juventus.
Vlahovic’s scoring streak had already made a strong impression the day before the derby, when the Serbian scored a hat trick in a decisive 6-2 victory over Corum, opening his personal tally in the SuperLig after three scoreless appearances. On that occasion, he opened the scoring from the penalty spot, then completed his hat trick with two clinical finishes—true to a top striker—on crosses from the wings, leaving the field in the 71st minute to a standing ovation from the crowd.
In the Istanbul derby, Vlahovic wasn’t the only former Juventus player on the field for Besiktas. In the closing minutes, Fabio Miretti also saw action, having arrived on loan from Juventus at the explicit request of coach Vincenzo Italiano. The midfielder, born in 2003, who came up entirely through the Old Lady’s youth system and made 106 first-team appearances, accepted the move to Turkey after falling out of favor under Luciano Spalletti. For him, this marks his first real experience playing abroad.
Skriniar’s journey to Fenerbahçe, on the other hand, has more recent roots: the Slovakian, after a difficult stint at Paris Saint-Germain—which had even forced him to train with the Primavera team and stay in a hotel while awaiting a resolution to his future—finally joined the Turkish club in the summer of 2025 for a fee of around 10 million euros. This move marked his definitive break with the world of French soccer and the start of a new chapter in his career, which on Saturday saw him once again face off against his longtime rival Vlahovic.
