2023-12-12 12:40:34
A referee at a Süper Lig match, the Turkish top division, was beaten on Monday by several men, including the president of the Ankaragücü club. An “unacceptable” incident, denounced Fifa on Tuesday.
The scene is surreal. Images broadcast Monday evening, December 11 live on Turkish television show the manager of the Ankaragücü football club, Faruk Koca, rushing onto the pitch at the end of the match between his Ankara club and Rizespor, before punching the referee of the match, Halil Umut Meler, in the face. Rizespor had just equalized (1-1) a few moments earlier at the very end of the match on the lawn of the Turkish capital club, while Ankaragücü had been denied a goal earlier in the game.
Falling to the ground, the referee curled up to protect himself but was still kicked several times in the face by at least two other men, presumably members of the home team. According to Turkish media, Halil Umut Meler, swollen under his left eye in view of other images, was transferred to hospital.
So this is football in Türkiye?? I can’t even imagine the massacre it would have caused if they played the PL referees. Big support for the referee, it’s despicable to do that ????pic.twitter.com/A341r5t7wu
— Sprinkle (@Dryss_4K) December 12, 2023
“The events following the Turkish Süper Lig match between MKE Ankaragücü and Caykur Rizespor are totally unacceptable and have no place in our sport or society,” Fifa President Gianni Infantino reacted this Tuesday, December 12. Without referees, there is no football. Referees, players, supporters and staff must be safe to enjoy the match and I call on the relevant authorities to ensure that this is strictly respected at all levels.
Before him, the Turkish Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, announced the arrest of three men responsible for the attacks against the man in black, including the president of the Ankaragücü club. For its part, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) decided shortly after to “postpone indefinitely” all championship matches. A sign of the extreme resonance of this act of violence, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself reacted. “I condemn the attack on referee Halil Umut Meler […] We will never allow violence to interfere in Turkish sport,” the head of state lambasted.
“Black Evening”
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,” writes the association. “We apologize to the supporters […] and to the entire sports community for this sad incident,” regretted the Ankaragücü club.
The AKP, the Islamo-conservative party of President Erdogan, has for its part launched an exclusion procedure against the leader of Ankaragücü, Faruk Koca, according to the Turkish public channel TRT Haber. The man was twice elected AKP deputy, in 2002 and 2007.
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