Turkey bans German-Kurdish player for life over 'ideological propaganda'

FILE PHOTO: FC St. Pauli's Deniz Naki controls the ball during their German Bundesliga first division soccer match against Hannover 96 in Hanover, Germany, October 1, 2010. REUTERS/Christian Charisius/File Photo

ANKARA (Reuters) - A German-Kurdish player previously convicted of support for Kurdish separatists in Turkey has been banned for life, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said on Tuesday.

Deniz Naki, 28, was banned from all competitive games for three years and six months and charged 273,000 liras ($72,000) for "separatist and ideological propaganda", the TFF said.