Club President Of A Turkish League Punches The Referee, Gets Arrested

The Turkish Football Federation suspended all league games after the president of a top-tier soccer team hit a referee in the face at the conclusion of the match, leading to the president’s detention on Tuesday by Turkish police.

Club President Of A Turkish League Punches The Referee, Gets Arrested

After the final whistle on Monday night, MKE Ankaragucu’s president, Faruk Koca, confronted referee Halil Umut Meler on the field after their Super Lig match against Caykur Rizespor ended in a 1-1 tie.

After Rizespor scored a last-minute equalizer, fans stormed the field, and the referee, already on the ground, was kicked as well.

When the final whistle went, Ankaragucu’s president, Faruk Koca, stormed onto the field and struck referee Halil Umut Meler, tying the score at one.

When Ankaragucu supporters stormed the field and kicked the referee as he went down, Meler was further attacked.

Police assisted him in getting to the changing room.

“The matches in all leagues have been postponed indefinitely,” Turkish FA chairman Mehmet Buyukeksi said in a news conference. “This attack is a night of shame for Turkish football.”

“Football matches are not a war, there is no death at the end,” he added. “Not all teams can become champions at the same time. We all need to understand this. We invite everyone to take responsibility.

“[Ankaragucu] and its managers will be punished most severely.”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that two people have been detained in an investigation into the incident, with a detention order issued for Koca.

“[Ankaragucu] and its managers will be punished most severely.”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that two people have been detained in an investigation into the incident, with a detention order issued for Koca.
The ministry shared footage of the referee laying on a hospital bed with a swollen face and a neck brace.

According to Mehmet Yorubulut, head physician of Acibadem hospital, “the bleeding in Meler’s left eye started to decrease” and there won’t be any long-term effects.

“The fracture there will gradually heal. He stated, “There isn’t any brain damage, and he will probably be released on Wednesday.

As a member of President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, club president Koca was twice elected to the Turkish parliament.

He declared, “Sports means brotherhood and peace.” Sport and violence are irreconcilable. We will never consent to acts of violence in Turkish sports.

After the draw, Ankaragucu is ranked 4-6-5, eleventh out of 20 teams in the TFF, while Rizespor is ranked 6-4-5.

Despite efforts to curb it, soccer violence is rampant in Turkey and several other European nations; nonetheless, high-level referee attacks are uncommon.

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Following a sports-related incident last week that left a police officer with life-threatening injuries, Greece declared on Monday that all top-tier soccer matches will be played without spectators in the stadiums for the next two months.

Following the killing of a supporter earlier this month, France’s minister of sports demanded “a global and extraordinarily determined to response” to soccer violence. According to Ameli Oudea-Castera, the actions can include regular prohibitions on spectator travel to away games when there is a chance of violence.

The season in France has been plagued by homophobic and racist chanting in the stands while  a team bus was pelted with stones and a game was called off because of crowd trouble.

 

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