Englishman Archie Brown scored as Fenerbahce began their return to Champions League football by holding Roma to a draw.
But the future of Fenerbahce's veteran coach Ismail Kartal was thrown into doubt after the game as he announced his resignation in the post-match news conference.
That sparked confusion over his future as the club attempted to get him to reverse the unexpected decision.
Roma's Bryan Cristante had opened the scoring in the first half when he arrowed a low effort into the left corner from about 20 yards.
That strike was one of few opportunities in an evenly matched 45 minutes in which Roma held the bulk of the ball but Fenerbahce looked the brighter side in the final third.
Full-back Brown, 24, replied shortly after the restart when he dinked the ball over goalkeeper Mile Svilar after being slipped through by Mason Greenwood.
Brown was born in England and came through West Brom and Derby County's academies, but has not played professional football in England. He has played for Lausanne in Switzerland and Gent in Belgium.
Roma searched for a way to get back on top after Brown's equaliser but were unable to get the better of the Turkish side's dogged defending.
Fenerbahce, rejuvenated after levelling, continued to look threatening with quick breaks and caused extra problems after the introduction of Romelu Lukaku from the bench, but could not snatch a winner.
The Turkish club are next in European action when they visit Aston Villa on Wednesday, 14 October (20:00 BST). Roma host Real Madrid at the same time.
