The president of top-tier Turkish club Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, was arrested on Tuesday for punching a referee in the face at the end of a match, with the official telling police that Koca had threatened to kill him.
The arrest followed an outbreak of violence during Super Lig club Ankaragucu's home match against Rizespor on Monday evening.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said it had suspended all leagues after the "shameful" incident when Koca punched referee Halil Umut Meler, who was in charge of Ankaragucu's home match against Rizespor on Monday.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Koca and two others were formally arrested for "injuring a public official" after prosecutors took statements from them.
"The investigation is continuing meticulously," Tunc said on social media. A decision was made to impose judicial controls on three further suspects.
Koca later announced his resignation as president via the Ankaragucu website.
Koca entered the field and hit Meler when the final whistle blew after Rizespor scored a 97th-minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Eryaman Stadium, footage from state broadcaster TRT showed.
Players and officials joined the melee or tried to intervene, and it has since been confirmed that Meler suffered a broken bone in his face as a result of the attack.
Meler had sent off one player from each side during the game.
🤯 This is the shocking moment a referee is punched to the ground by a club president after a @superlig match, prompting a response from Turkey president Recep Erdogan | More info 👉 https://t.co/6Y5UkS9VZC pic.twitter.com/hAygn0Lc1t
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_AUS) December 12, 2023
Ankaragucu fans invaded the pitch after the game and Meler was also kicked when he fell. He eventually made it to the dressing room with the help of the police.
"Faruk Koca punched me under my left eye; I fell to the ground. While I was on the ground, other people kicked me in the face and other parts of my body many times," Meler told the Anadolu news agency.
"Koca said to me and my colleagues, 'I will finish you'. Addressing me, he said, 'I will kill you'."
The federation said Ankaragucu, its chairman, club officials and all those guilty of attacking the referee will be "punished in the strongest terms possible".
The 37-year-old Meler is on UEFA's elite list and has previously officiated in the UEFA Europa League. He took charge of West Ham's Conference League semi-final first leg against AZ Alkmaar last season and Lazio's Champions League group game with Celtic on 28 November.
He was visited in hospital by the country's interior minister and the TFF president Mehmet Buyukeksi in Ankara on Tuesday.
Buyukeksi said Meler was set to be discharged on Wednesday, but insisted Monday’s horrific events had to be a "milestone" that led to fundamental change.
"This sad event should definitely not be forgotten," Buyukeksi said in quotes reported on the TFF’s X account.
"This should be a milestone. Today we will have important meetings. With our minister of youth and sports, with our minister of internal affairs, our minister of justice and our board of directors.
"We will provide detailed information after tomorrow’s board meeting.
"In this meeting, we will discuss all the issues clearly. We will give detailed information about the decisions we will make about how the league will continue.
"Let’s underline again – we strongly condemn the incident on behalf of the Turkish Football Federation board of directors and myself. This incident happened, but we cannot accept it being back to its old state in two weeks."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the events that took place after the match were "totally unacceptable and have no place in our sport or society".
"Without match officials there is no football," he added.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on X that sport is "incompatible with violence", adding "We will never allow violence to take place in Turkish sports."
Erdogan also spoke to Meler on the telephone, wishing him a speedy recovery.
The referee said, in quotes translated by Sky Sports News: "Right now there’s a fracture under my eye but nothing else. They’re taking really good care of me at the hospital. I am grateful to them. They’re making it easy and comfortable."
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."
Ankaragucu are 11th in the standings on 18 points, three places below Rizespor on 22 points after 15 matches.
MKE Ankaragucu apologised for the attack by their president issuing a statement which read: "We are saddened by the incident that took place this evening. We apologise to the Turkish football public and the entire sports community for the sad incident that occurred after the Caykur Rizespor match at Eryaman Stadium."
Caykur Rizespor responded by condemning the attack and wishing Meler a speedy recovery. A statement on their website read: "We strongly condemn the undesirable events that occurred after the Ankaragucu match we played today. We wish the entire referee community, especially the referee of the match, Halil Umut Meler, to get well soon."
