Two days after the attack on a referee on Monday, which led to the suspension of competitions, the Turkish championship will resume on December 19, the president of the Turkish federation announced on Wednesday.
Published
Reading time: 1 min
:quality(50)/2023/12/13/068-aa-11122023-1451288-65799e8302e7b581700199.jpg)
The suspension will last one week. The Turkish football championship, suspended since Monday’s attack on a referee during a first division match in Ankara, will resume on December 19, the president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced on Wednesday, December 13. “All leagues will resume on Tuesday December 19,” indicated Mehmet Büyükeksi, the head of the federation, who announced during the night from Monday to Tuesday the “postpone sine die” of all meetings. He also specified that sanctions against the Ankaragücü club could be announced on Thursday. Only matches from the 16th day of the Turkish Süper Lig will be postponed.
The manager, author of the facts, resigns
Halil Umut Meler, the referee of the match between Ankaragücü and Rizespor, was beaten Monday evening by several men, including the president of the club in the capital, Ankara, Faruk Koca. The Ankaragücü leader rushed onto the pitch at the final whistle before punching the referee in the face, while Rizespor had equalized (1-1) a few moments earlier in added time on the Ankaragücü field, which had previously been denied a goal.
Having fallen to the ground, the referee curled up into a ball to protect himself but was subsequently kicked several times in the face by two other men. The three perpetrators of the blows were detained on Tuesday, while the referee was hospitalized, notably suffering from head trauma. The president of the Ankaragücü club, for his part, announced his resignation on Tuesday evening.
