In a shocking development in Turkish football, Ankaragucu’s president Faruk Koca punched the referee in the face at the end of their Super Lig home match against Rizespor. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
What happened?
Referee Halil Umut Meler was knocked to the ground by MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, who ran on to the pitch after his team conceded a 96th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 Super Lig draw with Caykur Rizespor.
Ankaragucu fans invaded the pitch after the game and Meler was also kicked when he fell, though it was unclear who his assailants were. Meler eventually made it to the dressing room with the help of the police.
Meler, 37, is one of Turkey’s top referees and officiates international games for Fifa. He is also on Uefa’s elite referee list.
“The Turkish Football Federation has decided to suspend all games in all leagues indefinitely,” the federation posted on X. “The related club, the club chairman, club officials and all those guilty of attacking referee Umut Meler will be punished in the strongest terms possible.”
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also commented on the issue and has wished the match-referee speedy recovery."I condemn the attack on referee Halil Umut Meler after the MKE Ankaragücü-Çaykur Rizespor match played this evening, and I wish him a speedy recovery. Sports means peace and brotherhood. Sport is incompatible with violence. We will never allow violence to take place in Turkish sports," he wrote on X.
Turkey’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Ali Yerlikaya, announced that Koca was being treated in hospital under the supervision of security forces, with detention procedures to follow.
Yerlikaya later added: “I strongly condemn the attack on referee Halil Umut Meler at the end of the MKE Ankaragucu-Çaykur Rizespor match. Such incidents are unacceptable on our green fields, which are the ground of peace and friendship. We are following this sad event. I offer my best wishes to our referee Halil Umut Meler, who successfully represents Turkish refereeing abroad.”
A detention order has been issued for Koca, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X, adding that two people have already been detained as part of a judicial investigation into the incident.
