A Turkish court has sentenced a former top-flight football club executive to more than three-and-a-half years in prison for attacking a referee on the field at the end of a league game last season.
The MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca punched the referee Halil Umut Meler in the face after a 1-1 draw in a Super Lig game against Caykur Rizespor last year.
Meler, who fell to the ground, was also kicked in a melee that occurred when fans also invaded the field after Rizespor scored a last-minute equaliser on 11 December 2023. The incident caused global outrage and prompted the Turkish Football Federation to suspend league games for several weeks.
The court in Ankara convicted Koca of “intentionally wounding a public official” and sentenced him to three years and seven months in prison, the Anadolu Agency reported.
The court also convicted Koca of threatening the referee and of violating laws aimed at preventing violence in sports but suspended the sentences.
Three other people on trial for attacking the referee were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to five years, the agency reported.
Koca, who resigned as club president soon after the incident, is expected to appeal. He was briefly jailed last year before being released on bail.
Lawyers representing the defendants requested their acquittal, claiming they had committed the crime under “unjust provocation”, Anadolu reported.
Ankaragucu were fined 2m Turkish Lira (£45,000) and forced to play five home games without fans.
The referee was hospitalised with a small fracture near an eye.
