Turkish club defend ex-president sentenced to jail after punching referee

11/12/2024 10:24 AM

Turkish football club MKE Ankaragucu have defended their former president Faruk Koca as being the “target of one-sided public perception” after he was sentenced to more than three years in prison for assaulting a referee last year. Koca punched referee Halil Umut Meler at the end of a Turkish Super Lig match in December after his team conceded a 97th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Caykur Rizespor. A statement from Ankaragucu chairman Ismail Mert Firat on Tuesday said the verdict was “impossible to interpret with good intentions” and added that Koca had been...