A referee falls to the ground after being punched by the president of a Turkish soccer team/Emin Sansar/Anadolu/Getty Images
2023.12.12 Tue posted at 20:08 JST
(CNN) After a referee was punched in the face by the president of a participating team shortly after a game in Turkey’s First Division on the 11th, the country’s soccer federation announced that all league matches would be suspended indefinitely.
The home team, Ankaragyucu, played against Rizespor at a stadium in the capital, Ankara, and scored an equalizing goal in the closing stages. Immediately after the match ended 1-1, the team’s president, Faruk Koca, rushed onto the pitch and punched the referee, Khalil Umut Meller.
Mr Mellor fell to the ground and was kicked by at least two other people. He was then helped out by several players and security guards.
Photos and videos from the scene showed Mellor walking away, his left eye swollen and carrying a bag of ice, surrounded by a shield from a security team. Public broadcaster TRT said he was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Doctors at the hospital said he was treated for a small fracture and bleeding around his left eye. Because he sustained a blow to his head, he was hospitalized overnight as a precaution. He says his injuries are not life-threatening.
In a statement, the football federation condemned the attack and said it would continue to monitor Mellor’s condition and wish him a speedy recovery. The federation’s board of directors then announced that it had agreed to suspend league games. It reported that proceedings have begun to pursue criminal responsibility for the “inhuman attack,” and predicted that the team, its president, manager, and the “criminals” responsible for the attack would be severely punished.
“I went crazy and my eyes went black. I don’t remember what I did,” Coca said in an interview with a television station.
Ankaragucu issued an apology to domestic soccer fans and the entire sports world.
Turkish Interior Minister Yerlikaya posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Koca would be detained after receiving treatment at a hospital. He said the remaining two have already been arrested.
President Erdoğan also wrote to X: “Sports means peace and friendship. They are incompatible with violence. We will never tolerate violence in the Turkish sports world in the future.”
2023-12-12 11:08:00
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