Toxicity in Turkish football finally lead to a next level of crisis: Attack on a referee
The attack was started by a club president. Let’s see what happens to him since he is well connected to ruling party circles.
Halil Umut Meler, a Turkish football referee, was the victim of a shocking act of violence in December 2023. He was attacked by the president of Turkey’s Ankaragucu club, Faruk Koca, who invaded the pitch after a game against Rizespor. Meler was hospitalized with a slight fracture near his eye but was not in serious condition. He has since been discharged from the hospital, and the Turkish Football Federation condemned the attack, stating that all Turkish matches in all leagues were indefinitely suspended as a result of the violence[1][2][3][4].
Citations:
[1] https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/cx7xn8ynvz3o
[2] https://www.eurosport.com/football/turkish-leagues-suspended-after-referee-halil-umut-meler-punched-by-mke-ankaragucu-club-president-fa_sto9917920/story.shtml
[3] https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/25022430/halil-umut-meler-who-referee-what-happened/
[4] https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12040/13029364/turkish-referee-halil-umut-meler-leaves-hospital-after-attack-from-ankaragucu-president-faruk-koca
[5] https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halil_Umut_Meler
Attack on referee sums up Turkey’s toxic attitude towards officials
Turkey Suspends Soccer Matches After Referee Attack
Turkish football leagues suspended after attack on referee
Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
At this point in Turkish football, all that has happened is due to the appointed president of the Turkish Football Federation, Mehmet Büyükekşi. Except for 2-3 teams in the Turkish league, all other teams are demanding the resignation of Mehmet Büyükekşi.
We have addressed more topics about Turkish football on our website.
Fenerbahce news