“A black day for Turkish football. It’s a circus, a zoo” – we hear from Turkey after Monday’s match between Ankaragucu and Rizespor, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Although there were football emotions in this match until the very end, it was overshadowed by the events immediately after the final whistle of referee Halil Umut Meler.
Watch the video Listkiewicz got a counterattack. It couldn’t be clearer. “Human tragedy and graves”
A big scandal in Turkey. The club’s president beat up a referee on the pitch! “Circus and zoo. Black day for Turkish football”
It was supposed to be a normal match between teams from the middle of the table in the Turkish Super League (9th league in the European ranking), which is both Rafał Gikiewicz’s Ankaragucu and Rizespor. The hosts were very close to winning, as they were leading until added time thanks to a goal by Romanian Olimpiu Vasile Morutan.
Referee Meler had a lot of work to do – at the beginning of the match, he canceled a goal by Ankaragucu striker Ali Sowe due to a handball, and later showed as many as ten yellow and two red cards – first for the mentioned Sowe in the 56th minute, and then for Emir Han Topcu from Rizespor in stoppage time. However, right after losing the player, Rizespor managed to achieve a draw. Argentinian Adolfo Gaich scored for the hosts and the match ended with the score 1-1.
However, immediately after the final whistle, scandalous scenes took place. While the players and referees were still on the pitch, the furious president of Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, stormed onto it and landed a powerful right hook in the face of referee Meler. When he immediately fell to the turf, Koca’s bodyguard caught up with him and kicked him several times. Perhaps there would have been more if the players and members of both teams, as well as other referees, had not attacked the president and the bodyguard, separating them from the injured referee.
From what we learned, both teams were also shocked by the attack on the referee, because during the match there was no scandal involving the referee that could have led to such scandalous behavior by Koca. This is what judge Halil Umut Meler’s face looked like after the incident:
After such an event, Ankaragucu may be expelled from the Turkish Super League, because we are dealing with an absolutely unprecedented situation at this level of competition. What’s more, UEFA will certainly not leave the matter alone. 37-year-old Halil Umut Meler is an international referee from the highest UEFA Elite group, which also includes Szymon Marciniak.
This means that a Turkish referee is appointed for the most important European competitions, including Champions League matches, of which Meler has refereed three times this edition. These were matches between Benfica Lisbon and Red Bull Salzburg (0:2), Real Madrid against Braga (3:0) and Lazio Roma against Celtic Glasgow (2:0).
The Turkish referees’ association has already reacted to this situation and refused to appoint referees for the next league matches. The Turkish TFF federation has, in turn, convened an extraordinary meeting, which will probably result in the cancellation of the next round of the Super League and perhaps also in the punishment of Koca and Ankaragucu.
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkey officially informed that Faruk Koca was hospitalized (it is not known for what reason), but when he recovers, he will be arrested. In addition to being punished by the federation, he will certainly also face a criminal case. Koca was twice a member of the Turkish parliament. According to Turkish media, the entire situation at the stadium in Ankara even enraged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
After fifteen rounds, Ankaragucu, led by the legend of Turkish football, Emre Belozoglu, is in 11th place in the Super Lig with 18 points. However, Polish goalkeeper Rafał Gikiewicz is a substitute there for now, and local goalkeeper Bahadir Gungord is more often seen in the Ankara club’s goal.
2023-12-11 21:16:00
#Scenes #9th #European #league #clubs #president #lynched #referee #pitch #WIDEO
