A referee at a match in the Turkish first division championship was severely beaten on Monday by several men, including the president of the Ankaragücü club, a serious incident which caused the suspension of the championship until further notice.
According to images broadcast live on television, the leader of the Ankara club, Faruk Koca, rushed onto the pitch after the match between Ankaragücü and Rizespor before punching the player in the face. Referee of the match Halil Umut Meler.
Falling to the ground, the referee curled up into a ball to protect himself but was subsequently kicked several times in the face by at least two other men, presumably members of the local team. According to Turkish media, Halil Umut Meler, swollen under his left eye in view of other images, was transferred to hospital.
Rizespor had just equalized (1-1) a few moments earlier in added time on the Ankaragücü field, which had been denied a goal earlier in the match.
Erdogan condemns
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on the social network X the arrest of three men, including the president of the Ankaragücü club. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) decided shortly after to “postpone indefinitely” all matches in the championship.
Proof of the extreme resonance of this act of violence, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted. “I condemn the attack on referee Halil Umut Meler (…) We will never allow violence to interfere in Turkish sport,” he said.
Denouncing a “black evening” for Turkish football, the Turkish Referees Association called on its members to exercise their right of withdrawal. “We believe, or want to believe, that those responsible for Turkish football and Turkish justice will take all necessary criminal measures,” the association wrote in a press release. “We apologize to the supporters (…) and to the entire sporting community for this sad incident,” said the Ankaragücü club.
The AKP, the Islamo-conservative party of President Erdogan, has for its part launched an exclusion procedure against Faruk Koca, according to the Turkish public channel TRT Haber. Faruk Koca was twice elected AKP deputy in 2002 and 2007.