The president of the Turkish Ankaragucu FC kicked the referee after the match

An unremarkable match of the Turkish championship, in which two middle peasants of the championship “Ankaragucu” and “Rizespor” met, ended in a scandal that hit the news feeds of all world agencies. After the final whistle, Ankaragucu President Faruk Koca and his entourage ran onto the field, punched the referee in the eye and began kicking him. Result: the referee is in a hospital bed, Faruk Koca is under arrest, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that the ministers of internal affairs and justice are already looking into the matter, and the International Football Federation (FIFA) reminds of the unacceptability of attacks on referees, because without them it would be easy there will be no football. Well, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), in order to avoid new excesses, stopped all football tournaments in the country for an indefinite period.

An ordinary, completely unremarkable match of the top division of the Turkish championship, in which the capital Ankaragucu hosted Rizespor from the city of Rize, instead of a confrontation between the middle peasants that was of little interest to anyone except the fans of these teams, resulted in an event of international level. The most remarkable thing in this game happened after referee Khalil Umut Meler blew the final whistle. He whistled almost immediately after visiting forward Adolfo Gaich in the seventh added minute (by the way, the rights to the Argentinean belong to Moscow CSKA, and he plays for Rizespor on loan) equalized the score in the match – the game ended 1:1.

The missed victory, with Ankaragucu leading from the 14th minute of the match, made an extremely strong impression on the president of the Ankara club, Faruk Koca. He – of course, accompanied by a couple of friends, or rather security guards – ran onto the field and punched referee Mehler in the eye. The referee, who was probably not prepared for such a sudden transition from a football match to a boxing match, fell onto the lawn, after which Koca and his entourage began kicking him. The judge, fortunately, was repulsed by the police. He reached the locker room on his own, but was later hospitalized. Mr. Mehler, I must say, got off quite easily.

As reported at the Acibadem hospital, where he was taken, the victim was diagnosed with a crack in the eye socket and bruises to various parts of the body. But the bleeding has decreased, his condition is improving, the crack will heal, and the referee will be discharged home on Wednesday.

According to Khalil Umut Meler, it happened like this: “Faruk Koca hit me on the left cheekbone, I fell. While I was lying there, he and other people kicked me in the head and other parts of my body. Koca told other members of the refereeing team that he would finish with them, he told me that he would kill me.”

Farouk Koca himself gave a much more interesting description of the incident. He noted already in court (he was taken there to formalize his arrest), as the TV channel reported HaberTurk and agency Demiroren Newsthat “the incident occurred due to the incorrect and provocative actions of the judge.” Mr. Koca noted that when he ran onto the field, he just wanted to “insult the referee verbally and spit in his face.” But something went wrong.

“I slapped him in the face. “Such a slap in the face can’t cause a crack in the bone,” the Ankaragucu president is sure. “And then he took it and threw himself onto the lawn. I was immediately pulled away from him. I have a bad heart, I shouldn’t worry.”

However, the court was not impressed by Mr. Koji’s version, and therefore he was arrested, like his two accomplices. Let us note that there may be new arrests in this case, since after the beating of the referee began, Ankaragucu fans poured onto the field, many of whom also tried to wedge themselves into the thick of the events.

The incident caused an extremely sharp reaction from both the authorities and the governing structures of Turkish football. The Turkish Football Federation has decided not to push their luck and, until further notice, to completely cancel all official matches in the country – in all leagues. The federation also stated that the head of Ankaragucu and other club leaders, and indeed “all those guilty” of this “shameful event” will be punished as harshly as possible. The International Football Federation also responded to the incident.

“Cruelty has absolutely no place in football,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said via social networks. “The events that happened at the Turkish Championship are completely unacceptable. After all, without referees there is simply no football.”

However, what Faruk Koca and his accomplices should be afraid of first of all is not the reaction of TFF or FIFA: the most they can do is to remove the offenders from football activities. Much more dangerous for the Ankaragucu president is how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted to the incident (note that Faruk Koca was twice elected as a member of the Turkish parliament from the presidential Justice and Development Party). The Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs has released video recording, in which the head of state speaks on the phone with the injured referee. “We are very sorry for what happened and wish you a speedy recovery,” President Erdogan said. “I have already told my interior minister, my justice minister, and other necessary friends to do everything that is necessary.”

Alexander Petrov