A Turkish referee who was punched by a club president and then kicked in the head on the ground has been discharged from hospital.
Turkish football descended into chaos – on a night the nation’s media labelled as a ‘night of shame’ – on Monday when MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca launched the vicious attack on referee Halil Umut Meler after his side drew 1-1 against Caykur Rizespor in the Super Lig.
Meler was pictured battered and bruised and wearing a neck brace in hospital on Tuesday but following a series of additional tests, he was discharged on Wednesday morning.
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Pictures showed Meler waving to a crowd gathered outside the hospital’s entrance, still sporting a black eye on his left side.
Speaking after discharging Meler, Ankara hospital’s chief physician had a parting message: ‘He is in good spirits. He will have controls wherever he goes [next]. He has no problem except for a small swelling under his eye.
‘We put on a neck brace for precautionary purposes. The [cheek] fracture will heal in time, it was a small fracture anyway. There is no more bleeding.’
Shocking images of the on-pitch sucker-punch showed president Koca’s fist connecting with Meler’s cheek beneath his left eye, sending the official to the ground. Others then laid into him with a series of kicks as he curled up on the grass covering his face.
CNN Türk Istanbul News Director Nihat Uludag detailed on air how two of those who have been detained for kicking the referee in the head gained entry to the match via VIP tickets. Both fans are said to be ‘known’ to the club as they now are the subject of police enquiries.
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