A move to discipline unruly male football fans in Turkey turned up a surprising side effect Tuesday night, with over 40,000 women and children attending a top-flight match between clubs Fenerbahce and Manisaspor.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) had banned men from attending two Fenerbahce home games after fans went on a rampage following a friendly match with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in July.

The TFF had originally fined the soccer club and consigned it to playing the matches behind closed doors, before arriving at the unusual alternative of allowing women and children into the stadium.

Following the unexpected turnout, the TFF said it wanted more of the same, with women and children cheering wildly and waving flags. The federation said it now planned to allocate a portion of free tickets to women and children under 16 for all league matches this season.

"Turkish football needs this," TFF deputy chairman Goksel Gumusdag said.

"The answer has been quite clear; that the more families you have in the stands, the better an atmosphere you get," Karen Espelund, the first women's delegate appointed to the UEFA executive committee, said from a UEFA meeting in Cyprus.

"I think this has the potential of filling up the stands but it's definitely also a strategy of having a slightly different type of atmosphere."

Author: Darren Mara (AP, AFP)
Editor: Nicole Goebel