FLASH
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Football in Turkey has been suspended after the serious incident in the challenge between Ankaragucu and Rizespor, where the president of the local team, Faruk Koca, went down to the field in the 97th minute and knocked out the FIFA referee, Halil Umut Meler, with a punch in the face.
After the event that made the rounds of the network and treatment with specialized medicine in the Turkish capital, Meler has spoken out for the first time, claiming that the president of Ankaragucu threatened to kill him, before hitting him.
According to a statement by the referee, published by "Anadolu Agency", Meler fell to the ground after being punched in the left eye and was hit by two other people who came down to the field together with Kocan.
“Faruk Koca, told me and other officials, 'I will take your life, addressing me, he said, 'I will kill you '", said Meler for Anadolu.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Minister of Justice, Jilmaz Tunç, has announced the arrest of 3 people who attacked the referee, including Faruk Koca. They are accused of the criminal offense of "wounding on a sports field of a public official who was performing his public duty".
When 24 hours have passed since the event, Koca has reacted by rejecting the claims of Judge Meler.
“This incident took place due to the referee's wrong decisions and provocative behavior. My goal was to react verbally to the referee and spit in his face. Meanwhile, I hit the referee in the face. The slap I gave him doesn't cause a fracture. After the slap I gave him, the referee stood for about 5-10 seconds, then fell to the ground. They immediately removed me from the scene because of my heart problems. Apart from that, I am not aware of any incident that happened", Koca told Anadolu.
But, after the scenes of violence and the arrest, he has resigned from the position of President of the club, saying in a statement on the club's website that he feels "ashamed and saddened" by the incident.
“Nothing can legitimize or explain the violence I committed. Sports fields should be the place of competition between gentlemen. Any stance that casts a shadow over fair play, including mine, should not be present in stadiums", reads his reaction.
Therefore, the chief physician of Acibadem hospital, Mehmet Jorubulut, said in a video posted on the X platform that Meler has a small crack after the punch, but fortunately there is no damage to the brain. Yorubulut said he hopes Meler will be released from the hospital Tuesday evening or Wednesday.
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