FILE PHOTO: Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler leaves from a hospital in Ankara, Turkey December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan/File Photo
(Reuters) - Referee Halil Umut Meler said he will not forgive Turkish club Ankaragucu's president Faruk Koca for punching him in the face at the end of a Super Lig match last week.
The Turkish Football Federation's (TFF) disciplinary board imposed a permanent ban on Koca, who entered the field and hit Meler when the final whistle blew after Rizespor scored a 97th-minute equaliser at Ankaragucu's Eryaman Stadium.
Meler was then kicked in the head as he lay on the pitch.
Koca was arrested a day after the incident, with Meler telling police that the official had threatened to kill him.
"No, I did not forgive (Koca), I will not forgive," Meler told Turkish news daily Hurriyet.
"The person who did this punched me, I collapsed and fell to the ground. But the actual kicking while I was on the ground will be something I will never forget for the rest of my life.
"That's why, in conscience, I will never forgive. I will not forgive in any way, I will never forgive those who did it or those who provoked it."
Turkey's top soccer league resumed play on Tuesday following a one-week suspension.
($1 = 29.1254 liras)
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
