This week's appalling incident involving a club president attacking a referee has brought the entire culture of Turkish football into sharp focus, highlighting the growing concerns over political interference and disrespect towards match officials.
The sports community was left stunned when Faruk Koca, the president of top-tier club Ankaragucu, attacked referee Halil Umut Meler following a match. The distressing scene included other officials kicking the grounded referee.
In response, all league football in Turkey was postponed for a week. Koca received a lifetime ban from football, Ankaragucu faced a hefty two million lira fine ($69,000), and were mandated to play five home games without fans.
The assault prompted immediate condemnation from multiple sources, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, FIFA, the Turkish Football Federation, and the media. Headlines like "A punch of shame" and "Scandal" dominated front pages, underlining the severity of the situation and urging the government to impose even stricter penalties.
As a former politician and a close associate of Erdogan, Koca could potentially face over a decade in prison. Additionally, two other individuals involved in the assault have been arrested.
This incident occurred just two months after Turkey was granted joint hosting rights with Italy for the 2032 European Championship. While UEFA states that it's a matter for the Turkish federation to handle domestically, it casts a shadow over Turkey's reputation in the international football community.
"These kind of incidents cause irreversible and incredible harm to the value of Turkish football," former Besiktas and Turkey midfielder Ali Gultekin said.
"The incident may be unprecedented but definitely not unexpected, given the escalating criticism and even threats against referees."
The incident marked another low point for Turkish football, where criticism of referees and discontent with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system have been escalating.
Ex-FIFA referee Selcuk Dereli acknowledged that the crisis was foreseeable, stating that the assault should encourage Turkish football to "introspect."
Dereli highlighted the closely linked bond between politics and football in Turkey, implicating the government's excessive influence across multiple facets of the sport.
"The government’s policies on football have collapsed," he said. "The government has become too involved and has too much influence on everything from the assignment of chairmen and coaches, to the selection of players, from funding of football clubs to the assignment of referees.
"Football has lost its independence. The election of who runs the Turkish Football Federation is completely directed by politics. Without addressing Turkish political influence on football, we cannot address the real issues."
Gultekin and Dereli said the "toxic" culture within Turkish football had been exploited by clubs, each vying to garner support from fans and expand their following, with the targeting of referees often a convenient scapegoat for poor results.
The attack has also added to the growing concerns about the diminishing respect for referees across Europe, a trend exacerbated by the problematic implementation of VAR.
Referee relations in Turkey have been strained, with personal details of officials, including background, affiliations, and officiating records, often becoming the subject of intense scrutiny and social media posts.
Hugh Dallas, the Super Lig's head of referee education, was in the stadium when the incident happened and has called for governments to take action.
"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," Dallas told the BBC.
Prominent referee Ali Palabiyik, who has officiated in the Champions League and other major competitions, quit this year at 42 following public criticism of his mistakes during matches.
"The number of referees in Turkey are decreasing by the day due to pressure from the federation. We should learn to respect referees or it will become difficult to find referees to be assigned to matches," Palabiyik said.
"Serious sanctions are required for those who caused this situation, those who paved the way and those who made statements contributing to it, with careful implementation of necessary measures to ensure it does not happen again."
