A Turkish top-flight football club’s former president has been banned for life after punching a referee on Monday night. Faruk Koca left Halil Umut Meler with a huge bruise above his eye after making his way onto the pitch and attacking the official after Ankaragucu drew 1-1 with Rizespor.
Meler was hospitalised after the attack and was pictured with bruising and swelling on his face after being discharged on Wednesday. In a shocking incident, Koca raced onto the pitch and punched the referee, who was left lying on the ground desperately guarding his face.
The 37-year-old UEFA referee was also kicked in the head by unidentified assailants who had run onto the pitch as part of a group. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended all top-flight matches in the country, with play set to resume on December 19.
Koca was arrested after the attack and has since resigned from his position at Ankaragucu. The TFF have now announced that he will serve a life ban from football, while Ankaragucu have been fined £54,000.
The Turkish Super Lig outfit will also play five matches behind closed doors as a result of the unrest. Koca’s punch sparked a melee between players and officials.
Two suspects accused of kicking Meler were also arrested following the horror melee. Three others were freed from custody on condition that they report regularly to police.
“Sports means peace and brotherhood. Sport is incompatible with violence,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a social media statement on Monday.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino added: “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.”
According to reports in Turkey, Koca has also resigned from Erdogan’s ruling AKP party. He said earlier this year that he would consider running for Ankara mayor as the AKP candidate in an election scheduled for March 31 next year.
He was reported as saying after attacking Meler: “Nothing can legitimise or explain the violence that I committed. Sports fields should be the venue for gentlemanly competition. Any attitude that casts a shadow on fair play, including my own, should not be present in stadiums.”
Meler dished out a red card to each team in a feisty 1-1 draw. Rizespor equalised in the fifth minute of added-time.
