Soccer-Turkish leagues to resume next week after attack on referee

Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler leaves from a hospital in Ankara, Turkey December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey's top soccer league will resume play on Tuesday next week following a one-week suspension due to an on-field attack by a club president on a referee, who emerged from hospital on Wednesday with a swollen eye.

On Monday evening at the end of a Super Lig match, Ankaragucu club president Faruk Koca entered the pitch and punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face. The official was then kicked while lying on the pitch covering his head.