Another incident in the Turkish top football league. During the weekend before last, Trabzonspor fans did not keep their emotions in check and stormed the pitch after the match where they attacked the celebrating opposing players. The scandalous moment took place just four months after the Ankaragücü club president punched the referee after a match against Rizespor. How difficult is it to prevent such excesses and why are the punishments for such acts mostly only symbolic? We discussed this with Ankaragücü player Matěj Hanousko in the Livesport Daily podcast.
“I wasn’t right there, I was in the tunnel on the way to the cabin, but then teammates started running, saying that the referee had been punched and that the club president was the one who punched him.” Hanousek remembers the moment he learned about the incident.
Faruk Koca first punched the referee, and when Halil Umut Meler was lying on the ground, at least two other members of the home team kicked him. The chairman of the union, Mehmet Büyükeksi, threatened with the harshest possible punishments – but according to Hanousko, the punishments given are actually “ridiculous”, mainly because Koca has long-standing ties to Turkish President Erdogan.
Koca is not allowed to work in football for life, he was released from prison on bail. The club was threatened with expulsion from the competition, in the end it only received a fine of 1.5 million crowns and played five home matches without fans.
“Sparta gets such a fine when the fans throw flares on the lawn, we compare it incomparable” says Hanousek, according to whom the punishment should have been completely devastating.
In today’s episode of Livesport Daily we also covered:
– about the breach of contract by Ankaragücü
– about the latest incident in Trabzonspor
– about his experience in the Turkish league
You can also find all episodes of Livesport Daily on popular podcast platforms – Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Tags: Hanousek football Turkey attacks referee punishment devastating
