(Reuters) – Referee Halil Umut Meler has expressed that he will not forgive Turkish club Ankaragucu’s president Faruk Koca for assaulting him at the end of a Super Lig match last week. The Turkish Football Federation’s (TFF) disciplinary board has responded by permanently banning Koca from any further involvement in the sport, after he entered the field and attacked Meler when the final whistle blew, following Rizespor’s 97th-minute equaliser at Ankaragucu’s Eryaman Stadium. Meler was further subjected to a kick in the head while lying on the pitch.
Koca was apprehended a day after the incident, with Meler informing the police of Koca’s alleged death threat against him. “No, I did not forgive (Koca), I will not forgive,” Meler told Turkish news daily Hurriyet. “The person who did this punched me, I collapsed and fell to the ground. But the actual kicking while I was on the ground will be something I will never forget for the rest of my life.”
“That’s why, in conscience, I will never forgive. I will not forgive in any way, I will never forgive those who did it or those who provoked it.”
Turkey’s top soccer league resumed play on Tuesday following a one-week suspension. (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
