Turkish referee attacked by club president leaves hospital

Halil Umut Meler was punched by Faruk Koca at the end of a league game on Monday night.

Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler, second left, leaves the Acibadem hospital in Ankara (Ali Unal/AP) (AP)

Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler has left hospital after being treated for injuries suffered in an attack at the end of a Super Lig game on Monday.

Meler, who received a small fracture under his eye when hit by MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca after his club’s match against Caykur Rizespor, was pictured leaving the Acibadem hospital in Ankara.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended domestic football in the country indefinitely in the wake of the incident and on Wednesday confirmed in a press conference that all leagues would resume on December 19.

TFF president Mehmet Buyukeksi said Meler would not be quitting refereeing because of the attack.

Turkey’s justice minister Yilmaz Tunc said on his X account on Tuesday that Koca had been arrested “for injuring and threatening a public servant due to his public duty”.

Koca later announced his resignation as president via Ankaragucu’s official website.

Meler was visited in hospital on Tuesday by Buyukeksi and interior minister Ali Yerlikaya.

At Wednesday’s press conference, Buyukeksi said the TFF’s disciplinary committee would “do what is necessary and announce its decision on Thursday”.

And he said: “Halil Umut Meler is not just a referee for us, but a referee that we are proud of in the international arenas.

“He is a good family man and a good person. And nothing we will talk about today tells us more than the photo of our referee being dragged on the ground with both hands (used) to shield his head while he is being brutally kicked.

“The main mission of all of us is to…protect (football) as an area where all stakeholders can feel safe. There is never any room for violence in the game.

“What happened in the match…is in no way acceptable. We will show zero tolerance for any similar incident on or off the field, and we will not tolerate any action against our referees and the refereeing institution.”

In October Turkey was awarded joint hosting rights for Euro 2032 alongside Italy.

Buyukeksi has said he has received assurances from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin that Monday’s incident had not jeopardised that project.

FIFA and UEFA have both condemned the attack on Meler, who was in charge of West Ham’s Europa Conference League semi-final first leg against AZ Alkmaar last season.

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Meler on the telephone.

Koca announced on Tuesday afternoon he had quit in “order to prevent any further harm to the Ankaragucu club, Ankaragucu fans, the community I am in and my family”.

He added: “I hope that this incident, which I, more than anyone else, cannot accept, will be a reason for our sports life, especially our football community, to be purified from mistakes, shortcomings and the culture of violence.

“At the same time, I hope that the structural problems of Turkish football will be discussed more realistically due to this grave incident that I caused.”