The Turkish Premier League was suspended late Monday after the match after Faruk Koca, president of Ankaragucu Football Club, ran onto the pitch after the match and punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face.
Ankaragucu hosted Rizespor club in the 15th round of the Turkish Premier League and took the lead in the 10th minute, but after consulting VAR it was discovered that the home team’s player in the previous situation had touched the ball with the hand. Four minutes later, however, Ali Kaan Guneren left no doubt when he gave Ankaragucu the lead with a beautiful long-range shot.
Both clubs then had scoring chances, but the hosts were outnumbered in the 50th minute when Ali Sowe was sent to the changing rooms with a second yellow card. The tension culminated further in the match’s extra minutes, when Rizespor defender Emir Han Topcu was also sent off for a bad foul.
In the seventh minute of extra time the visitors equalized when Adolfo Gaich was in the right place at the right time and headed the ball into the goal after it bounced off the post. At the end of the match the score was 1:1.
However, after the match, an extremely bad incident occurred when Faruk Koca, the president of the Ankaragucu club, ran onto the pitch and punched the head referee Halil Umut Meler in the face. The referee fell to the ground, after which he was kicked again. The referee, who belongs to UEFA’s elite, was not seriously injured, but spent the night in hospital.
The Turkish Football Federation announced after the match that local football would be suspended for some time. Before that, the referees’ association said they would refuse to take the field in the next round. “This attack has brought great shame to Turkish football,” said Football Federation president Mehmet Buyukeksi, who vowed that the Ankaragucu club would be punished.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also commented on the situation. “I condemn what happened after the match between Ankaragucu and Rizespor and wish the referee a speedy recovery. Sport means peace and brotherhood. There is no place for violence in sport. We will not allow such violence to happen in Turkish sport,” Erdogan said .
Faruk Koca, who attacked the judge, belongs to Erdogan’s party, the AK, but on Monday evening the Turkish media wrote that Koca risks expulsion.
2023-12-12 06:37:00
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