FORMER TURKISH CLUB CHIEF IMPRISONED FOR PUNCHING REFEREE

Faruk Koca punched Halil Umut Meler in the face last December. Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images

A Turkish court sentenced a former top-flight football club executive to more than three and a half years in prison on Monday for attacking a referee on the pitch at the end of a league game last season.

Former Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face after the final whistle of a 1-1 draw in a Super Lig game against Caykur Rizespor last year.

Meler, who fell to the ground, was also kicked in a melee that occurred when fans also invaded the field after Rizespor scored a last-minute equaliser on Dec. 11, 2023.

The incident had caused global outrage and prompted the Turkish Football Federation to suspend all league games for several weeks.

The court in Ankara convicted Koca of "intentionally wounding a public official" and sentenced him to three years and seven months in prison, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The court also convicted Koca of threatening the referee and of violating laws aimed at preventing violence in sports but suspended the sentences.

Three other people who were also on trial for attacking the referee, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to five years, the agency reported.

Koca, who resigned as club president soon after the incident, is expected to appeal the verdict. He was briefly jailed last year before being released on bail.

Earlier, lawyers representing the defendants requested their acquittal, claiming that they had committed the crime under "unjust provocation," Anadolu reported.

Ankaragucu was fined 2 million Turkish Lira ($59,000) and forced to play five home games without fans.

The referee was briefly hospitalised with a small fracture near his eye.

- Associated Press 

TURKISH REFEREE LEAVES HOSPITAL WITH A BLACK EYE 36 HOURS AFTER ON-FIELD ATTACK

Reuters 

The referee who was punched on the pitch by the head of a top-tier Turkish soccer club was released from hospital on Wednesday with a swollen eye but no other health issues, the chief doctor said.

On Monday evening at the end of a Super Lig match, referee Halil Umut Meler was punched in the face and then kicked while lying on the pitch. On Wednesday morning, TV footage showed him leaving the Ankara hospital and entering a black van.

Mehmet Yorubulut, chief doctor at Acibadem hospital, said the head fracture he suffered would heal in time. "The bleeding in Meler's left eye has almost completely stopped," he added.

TURKISH SOCCER CLUB PRESIDENT ARRESTED FOR PUNCHING REFEREE

Reuters 

The president of top tier Turkish soccer club Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, was arrested on Tuesday for punching a referee in the face at the end of a match, with the official telling police that Koca had threatened to kill him.

The arrest followed an outbreak of violence during Super Lig club Ankaragucu's home match against Rizespor on Monday evening.

Referee Halil Umut Meler, who was also kicked while lying on the pitch, said that Koca had also threatened him and his colleagues, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

"Faruk Koca punched me under my left eye; I fell to the ground. While I was on the ground, other people kicked me in the face and other parts of my body many times," he said.

"Koca said to me and my colleagues, 'I will finish you'. Addressing me, he said, 'I will kill you'."

The Turkish court which made the arrest ruling also remanded in custody two other suspects over the incident.

TURKISH LEAGUES HALTED AFTERBCLUB PRESIDENT PUNCHER'S REFEREE

Reuters 

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has suspended all leagues on a night of "shame" for the nation's soccer after Ankaragucu's president Faruk Koca punched the referee in the face at the end of their Super Lig home match against Rizespor.

Koca entered the field and hit referee Halil Umut Meler when the final whistle blew after Rizespor scored a 97th minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Eryaman Stadium on Monday, footage from state broadcaster TRT showed.

Ankaragucu fans invaded the pitch after the game and Meler was also kicked when he fell, though it was unclear who his assailants were. Meler eventually made it to the dressing room with the help of the police.