Turkey’s premier football league is set to resume play on Tuesday after a one-week hiatus prompted by an on-field attack by a club president on a referee.
The incident unfolded at the conclusion of a Super Lig match on Monday evening when Ankaragucu club president Faruk Koca entered the pitch and assaulted referee Halil Umut Meler, who emerged from the hospital on Wednesday with a swollen eye.
Koca was promptly arrested the following day, leading the Turkish Football Federation to immediately suspend all matches.
Chairman Mehmet Buyukeksi announced on Wednesday that league matches would resume on December 19th.
Buyukeksi said the federation’s disciplinary committee would decide on Thursday on the status of Ankaragucu.
Mehmet Yorubulut, the chief doctor at Acibadem Hospital, said the head fracture he suffered would heal in time. “The bleeding in Meler’s left eye has almost completely stopped,” he added.
Koca was arrested on Tuesday for his attack on Meler, who was later quoted as telling police that Koca had also threatened to kill him during the incident.
When the final whistle blew, Koca entered the field and hit Meler after visiting club Rizespor scored a 97th-minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw.
The federation said Ankaragucu, its chairman, club officials and all those guilty of attacking the referee will be “punished in the strongest terms possible.”