A Turkish third division player has been banned for life for attacking opponents during a league match.

Amed SK midfielder Mansur Calar, 33, was accused by Sakaryaspor of cutting their players "with a sharp object" during a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) banned Calar from all competitive games for four years and fined him 25,000 lira (£3,500) on Thursday.

Any suspension longer than three years constitutes a life ban in Turkey.

It means Calar will not be able to play football in Turkey again.

Sakaryaspor said a number of players went to hospital after the match with injuries.

They said players were attacked as they inspected the pitch before their away match and again during the warm-up - with a player from either side shown red cards before kick-off.

The TFF ordered Amed SK to play one match behind closed doors.

Amed SK player Muhlis Ystemi was given a five-match ban and a 3,000 lira (£420) fine and team-mate Muhammed Ali Ozdemir was handed a four-match suspension and fined 2,400 lira (£336) for "attacks on rival team athletes."

Sakaryaspor's Serkan Odabasoglu was banned for five matches and fined 3,000 lira (£420) for the same offence.

What happened?

The story surfaced with allegations emerging via a local TV news channel, which reported a brawl on the pitch. The channel claimed an Amed SK (Amedspor) player used a razor to attack the opposing team's player.

That created a swirl of attention on social media with the hashtag #shutdownamedspor trending.

Sakaryaspor player Ferhat Yazgan posted a picture of what he said were injuries caused by a blade on social media and the club issued a statement about what they call "assaults" on their players.

It is hard to determine the cause of Yazgan's injuries from the picture on social media - whether they came from a razor or from nail scratches sustained in a brawl. Amedspor's social media account published video of clashes between players after the game.

What is the context?

Amedspor represents Diyarbakir, the most prominent Kurdish-populated city in Turkey. They have encountered similar issues - especially when playing away from home.

This game was played in Diyarbakir, but at the reverse fixture in Sakaryaspor's home town of Adapazari in the first half of the season, nationalistic songs glorifying the Turkish army were played. This was at a time when the Turkish army was conducting military operations in northern Syria against Kurdish militia.

Two years ago, the Turkish military entered Diyarbakir, enforcing a curfew and conducting operations in the town against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militia group.

Adapazari is a small town in Turkey with traditionally strong support for President Erdogan.

Nationalism runs high in the town - as in most towns in central Anatolia. The fans are vocal in terms of supporting the military and ongoing operations and it has created this political rivalry.