Almost a year ago, a scandal hit football in Turkey once again. It is not the first time and, unfortunately, it will not be the last, but months later the sentence of Faruk Koca has been made public. The president of MKE Ankaragucu was the author of an aggression that shamed Europe and ended up causing the suspension of the Turkish Super League for several weeks.
Three years and seven months in prison is what the former manager will have to serve. The reason, for punching the referee who refereed his team’s match against Caykur Rizespor. In addition, he was given more months for various threats, such as “I’m going to kill you” which he also said to the referee and a lifetime suspension by the Turkish Football Federation.
Lionel Messi behavior with woman at Inter Miami game goes viral
On December 11, 2023, the controversial match took place, in which Ankaragucu took the lead, but saw their lead cancelled out in the 97th minute. After that action, Koca went down to the pitch and punched the referee in the face, who fell to the ground. While lying on the grass, the former president kicked him several times in the face. The referee had to be hospitalized, leaving the stadium with a swollen face and a black eye.
He was already in prison
This would not be the first time Koka has been imprisoned, as he was reportedly behind bars last year, but was able to get out on bail. As reported, he is expected to appeal the verdict to try to reduce the sentence or avoid punishment. His lawyer claims that the assault was carried out under unjust provocation, so it seems that they will try to prolong a trial that looks like it will end badly for Koka.
Ankaragucu are in the second division of the Turkish league after being relegated last season. They had to pay a fine of almost 60,000 euros and play five matches behind closed doors. Now they are looking to get promoted again and leave that incident behind.
