Faruk Koca, the previous president of Ankaragücü, has been completely banned by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) for bodily assaulting referee Halil Umut Meler.
Meler was approached and struck within the face by Koca following Monday night time’s Süper Lig match between Ankaragücü and Rizespor.
Koca was subsequently arrested, and the TFF, in asserting a spread of disciplinary measures on its official web site on Thursday night time, acknowledged that the 59-year-old has been banned in response to the incident, which has garnered international consideration.
Meler had ejected one participant from all sides earlier than Rizespor equalized within the seventh minute of damage time to power a 1-1 draw.
Koca ran onto the pitch after the sport and struck the referee, who was then kicked by one other individual whereas on the bottom.
Meler left the hospital on Wednesday after being handled for accidents, together with a small fracture underneath his eye.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc acknowledged on his X account on Tuesday that Koca had been arrested “for injuring and threatening a public servant due to his public duty.”
Koca later introduced his resignation as president through the Ankaragücü web site.
Matches throughout all of Türkiye’s leagues have been suspended following the assault, and it has since been confirmed by the TFF – which has additionally fined Ankaragücü 54,000 kilos ($68,000) and ordered them to play 5 video games behind closed doorways amongst quite a few sanctions following the incident – that they’ll resume subsequent Tuesday.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned the assault on Thursday, telling Sky Sports News: “Enough is enough, and this has to stop. I was shocked when I saw the images, like everyone else. You can be excited at a match, and you can feel for a team, but there is no way we can accept anything like that to happen.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com