The Turkish Football Federation has paused all games and a club president has been arrested after he attacked a referee on Monday night.
The referee was hospitalized for a fracture near his eye, according toCBS, and is expected to be discharged on Wednesday. The outlet reported that Koca was also taken to the hospital for treatment after being considered at risk of a heart attack.
In a statement to Turkish outletAnadolu, Meler said that Koca threatened to “kill” him during the incident. “Faruk Koca punched me under my left eye, I fell to the ground,” Meler’s statement to the outlet began.
President of MKE Ankaragucu Faruk Koca speaks during an exclusive interview.Ismail Aslandag/Anadolu via Getty Images
Ismail Aslandag/Anadolu via Getty Images
“While I was on the ground, all the people kicked my face and other parts of my body many times. Faruk Koca, along with all my referee friends, said to me, ‘I will finish you.’ Addressing me, he said, ‘I will kill you.’ I have filed a complaint against the shooter Faruk Koca and other persons. I do not want to compromise. This is all I have to say.”
The Federation said, “All the criminals who attacked Halil Umut Meler will be punished in the most severe way,” in its statement on Tuesday.
Faruk Koca, President of MKE Ankaragucu throws a punch to the referee Halil Umut Meler after the Turkish Super Lig week 15 soccer match between MKE Ankaragucu and Rizespor at Eryaman Stadium in Ankara, Turkiye.Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images
In astatementon X (formerly Twitter), Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc confirmed that “all suspects and the fans who went down to the field” will be taken “into custody” following the incident.
The Minister’s statement continued, “The investigation continues in all its aspects with the identification of other suspects. No one should have any doubt that our judiciary will decide on the necessary sanctions against those who cause such ugliness that we do not want to see in our fields.”
President of the Federation, Mehmet Büyükekşi, said, “I wish our entire football community a speedy recovery,” when addressing the situation on Tuesday. “Thank God, our referee is in good health. Hopefully, he will be discharged tomorrow.”
Abdurrahman Antakyali/Depo Photos via AP
Büyükekşi continued, “This attack deeply saddened all of us. For such issues, I wish we weren’t here right now…Our coming here today is not just for the sake of getting well soon. Today we will have important meetings.““We will provide detailed information after tomorrow’s Board of Directors meeting,” he added.
Koca has disputed the claims in a statement to Anadolu. The Ankaragücü president said his “aim was to react verbally to the referee and spit in his face,” during an incident that “developed due to the referee’s wrong decisions and provocative behavior.”
“Meanwhile, I slapped the referee in the face. The slap I gave does not cause a fracture,” Koca said to the outlet, adding that Meler “threw himself on the ground” roughly “five to ten minutes” after the slap.
“They immediately removed me from the scene because I had a heart condition. I am not aware of any other incident that took place,” Koca told Anadolu.
Speaking toCNN Türk, Koca claimed he was unaware of the events on Monday. “My brain went crazy, my eyesight blacked out! I don’t remember what I did!” Koca said.
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source: people.com
