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All Turkish League matches have been suspended indefinitely after a referee was brutalized during a top-tier match between MKE Ankaragucu and Caykur Rizespor on Monday, December 11.
Late on Monday, a video surfaced online showing the referee identified as Halil Umut Meler, lying on the pitch with his hands over his face as he was being kicked at by officials of Ankaragucu.
Before he fell on the pitch, the president of Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca stormed the pitch and punched him in the face after Caykur Rizespor scored the equalizer in the 97th minute to make it a 1-1 draw.
The kicks and punches which rained on Meler, a 37-year-old Turkish A-grade referee, who also works for FIFA in international matches, caused minor fractures and he is currently responding to treatment.
Following the incident, players and club officials from both clubs were embroiled in an almost free-for-all fight.
“The matches in all leagues have been postponed indefinitely,” Turkish FA [TFF] chairman Mehmet Buyukeksi told a news conference.
“This attack is a night of shame for Turkish football”.
Koca who started the crisis also needed hospital care, and “detention procedures will be carried out after the treatment”, according to Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya.
Yerlikaya stated that other people had been taken into custody for their involvement in the incident.
The post Video: Turkish Elite Referee Brutalized For Allowing Equalizer appeared first on Naija News.
