Faruk Koca is who? FIFA denounces the arrest of a disgraced football club president who punched a referee in a Turkish league

Following a startling event during the team’s home match against Rizespor, Faruk Koca, the president of the well-known Super Lig club Ankaragucu, was detained on Tuesday, throwing Turkish football into disarray. Violence broke out in the stadium, leading to an unsettling attack on referee Halil Umut Meler, which darkened the mood there. The referee told the authorities that he had received death threats from the club president after Koca allegedly hit him in the face.

Referee Meler gave a terrifying description of the threats he received from Koca. Not only did he survive the physical attack, but he was also kicked while lying on the field. “I collapsed to the ground when Faruk Koca hit me beneath my left eye. I was on the ground and I was kicked repeatedly in the face and other portions of my body by other individuals,” he said.

“Koca threatened to finish me and my coworkers. “I will kill you,” he snarled, turning to face me.”

The event was so serious that the Turkish Football Federation moved quickly to confront the growing violence in the sport by calling an emergency meeting and suspending all league games indefinitely. The severity of the problem and the pressing need to address the larger concerns of misbehavior, security, and match officials’ safety are highlighted by this extraordinary action.

Following the arrest, it became known that Faruk Koca, who was thought to be in danger of having a heart attack, had spent the night in the hospital. Koca was then placed in jail awaiting trial for allegedly hurting a public officer. Koca resigned as president of Ankaragucu as a result of the arrest, raising concerns about possible consequences for the club after the event.

Faruk Koca is who?
Koca is a Turkish businesswoman and politician who was born in 1964. She was a member of the 22nd and 23rd Grand National Assembly. He was a member of the Justice and Development Party, representing an Ankara constituency until he was kicked out of the organization after the altercation with the referee earlier this week.

Koca, who will take over as president of MKE Ankaragucu in June 2021, was also named President/Manager of the Month in October of the previous year. In addition to his involvement in politics, he is well-known in the business world. In 1989, he founded the Koca Group, which specializes in the building industry.

The football community denounces Koca’s behavior
The activities after the game were deemed “totally unacceptable and have no place in our sport or society” by Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, the organization that oversees international football.

“Without match officials, there is no football,” he said.

UEFA, the entity that oversees football in Europe, strongly denounced the event. “We urge the authorities and the responsible disciplinary bodies to take decisive and necessary action against anyone involved in acts of abuse and violence against referees,” said UEFA.

“Referees are crucial to the proper operation of the game, and their recruitment by national organizations is hampered by such intolerable and upsetting behavior.”

Head of referee education for the Turkish Super Lig Hugh Dallas was present in the stadium during the event and has since called on governments to intervene.

“I’ve never seen a referee at the top level in a top country being assaulted that way,” Dallas said to the BBC.

“I believe that many club presidents, members of the media, and others will look in the mirror today and realize that this is what happens when you incite such a widespread frenzy over officiating.

“There has to be legislation and punishments put in place for clubs, players, owners, or whoever when they behave in such a manner because it definitely can’t continue.”