Presidents still cheat! In Turkey, after returning from the break, the Premier League match remained unfinished again – Soccernet.ee

The scandal that shook Turkish football, as a result of which matches were suspended throughout the country, has not yet calmed down, when another curiosity was seen in the Premier League. The match between Istalnbulspor and Trabzonspor was suspended because the hosts’ president, Ecmel Faik Sarialioglu, ordered his team to leave the pitch.

Paul Onuachu had given Trabzonspor the lead in the 68th minute, but bottom-of-the-table Istanbulspor were unhappy with the decision: in their opinion, in the previous situation the referee should have awarded them a penalty. Eventually, Sarialioglu entered the pitch and ordered his players into the locker room in the 73rd minute. Not all Istanbulspor players agree – for example, Ivory Coast defender Simon Deli kneeled down and asked the president to let the match continue – but Sarialioglu kept his word.

“A sad day for football… Now we wait to see what the league decides,” Trabzonspor coach Abdullah Avci said via the BBC.

It was the first day of the Turkish Premier League after the bad incident a week ago, when Ankaragücü president Faruk Koca punched referee Halil Ümüt Meler after the 1-1 draw against Caykur Rizespor. The Turkish Football Federation has banned Koca from football for life.

The match day had started with a beautiful gesture, when children wearing T-shirts with the word “Respect” handed the referees a bouquet of flowers before the match between Basaksehir and Sivasspor. However, the behavior of Sarialioglu and Istanbulspor will probably create a further step in the relationship between teams and referees.

İstanbulspor president Faik Sarıalioğlu asked his players to leave the pitch to protest the missed penalty against Trabzonspor.

This comes after last week’s referee beating. Turkey doesn’t deserve football.pic.twitter.com/xGnCwXNAaC
— Total Football (@TotalFootbol) December 19, 2023