Following a game earlier this week, the former head of Turkish team Ankaragucu punched a referee, earning him a lifelong ban from the Turkish football organization.
Ankaragucu has also been fined 60,000 euros ($66,000) by the Turkish Football Federation’s disciplinary board and mandated to play five home matches behind closed doors.
Club boss Faruk Koca rushed onto the pitch with a group of men following Ankaragucu’s draw with Caykur Rizespor on Monday, throwing a punch at referee Halil Umut Meler after he had blown the final whistle.
Koca subsequently resigned from his post following outrage, while all Turkish league matches were suspended until Dec. 19.
The club boss got angry at Meler for sending off one of his players and then awarding a stoppage-time goal. Meler fell to the ground and was kicked several times.
The referee was later hospitalised with a swollen eye, but he has since been discharged.
“Sports means peace and brotherhood. Sport is incompatible with violence,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a social media statement on Monday.
According to Turkish press reports, Koca also resigned from Erdogan’s ruling AKP party.
