2023-12-16 14:57:56
Turkish football was subjected to a major shock last Monday when Faruk Koca, president of the Ankaracucu club competing in the local Premier League, attacked referee Halil Umut Miller and punched him at the end of a match, while some club officials kicked the referee in the head following he fell to the ground.
According to Archyde.com, following the incident, the matches of all leagues in Turkey in all categories were postponed for a week, while Koca was punished with a life ban, and the club was punished with a fine of $69,000, in addition to playing five matches at home without an audience.
Several parties in Turkey and abroad denounced the attack, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the Turkish Football Association, and Turkish media. At the same time, voices calling for government intervention and the imposition of more stringent sanctions rose.
Koca, a former politician and long-time friend of the Turkish president, may face a prison sentence of more than ten years. Two other officials were also arrested for their role in the attack.
The attack came two months following Turkey and Italy obtained the rights to host the 2032 European Championship, and although the European Football Association (UEFA) says that the incident is an internal Turkish matter that the Turkish Football Federation must deal with, what happened certainly does not benefit Ankara’s image and reputation much.
For his part, former Turkish and Besiktas midfielder Ali Gültekin said: “Such incidents greatly and permanently harm the value of Turkish football… The incident may be unprecedented, but it was certainly not unexpected given the escalation of criticism and threats directed at referees.”
Former international referee Selcuk Dereli also agreed that the crisis was expected, saying: “Turkish football must look in the mirror.”
The former international referee spoke regarding a very strong relationship between football and politics in Turkey, pointing out the presence of great government influence in various aspects of sports as a result of excessive government interference in everything related to aspects of the popular game in the country. He added: “Football has lost its independence. Politics is completely involved in choosing those who run the Turkish Football Federation. We will not be able to address the actual problems in the game without addressing Turkish political influence in football.”
The incident also added to concerns regarding the decline in respect for referees across Europe, a shift that has been exacerbated by the introduction of video assistant referee technology, which some people do not like.
Relations with referees in Turkey have become strained while personal details of officials, including backgrounds, affiliations and refereeing records, have become the subject of much public attention and attention across social media.
Hugh Dallas, head of referee training in the Turkish League, was at the stadium when the incident occurred and called on the government to intervene and take the necessary measures. Dallas told the BBC: “There must be legislation and penalties for clubs, players, owners or anyone else when they behave in this way because this situation certainly cannot continue.”
Prominent referee Ali Palabek, who officiated matches in the Champions League and other major competitions this year, resigned despite being 42 years old following public criticism of his mistakes during the matches. Balabik said: “The number of rulers in Turkey is decreasing day by day due to pressure from the union. We must learn to respect referees, otherwise it will become difficult to find referees to referee matches.”
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