The Turkish government and football federation have pledged to act swiftly and decisively after a referee was attacked during a top-flight match on Monday.
Referee Halil Umut Meler was approached on the pitch and hit by the president of MKE Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, after a stoppage-time equaliser for their Turkish Super Lig opponents Caykur Rizespor.
Players and officials joined the melee or tried to intervene, and it has since been confirmed that Meler suffered a broken bone as a result of the attack.
Meler, who has officiated in UEFA matches in the past, including West Ham’s Europa Conference League semi-final first leg against AZ Alkmaar last season, was visited in hospital by the country’s interior minister and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) president Mehmet Buyukeksi in Ankara on Tuesday.
The TFF has suspended all domestic football indefinitely following the attack.
Buyukeksi said Meler was set to be discharged on Wednesday, but insisted Monday’s horrific events had to be a “milestone” that led to fundamental change.
“This sad event should definitely not be forgotten,” Buyukeksi said in quotes reported on the TFF’s X account.
“This should be a milestone. Today we will have important meetings. With our minister of youth and sports, with our minister of internal affairs, our minister of justice and our board of directors.
“We will provide detailed information after tomorrow’s board meeting.
“In this meeting, we will discuss all the issues clearly. We will give detailed information about the decisions we will make about how the league will continue.
“Let’s underline again – we strongly condemn the incident on behalf of the Turkish Football Federation board of directors and myself. This incident happened, but we cannot accept it being back to its old state in two weeks.”
Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya was reported as saying by the TFF’s X account: “Our wish, together with our dear nation, is that there will be no violence of any kind in sports again.
“Sport is about unity, solidarity and brotherhood. When we don’t like a decision, do we have to suddenly turn into something else?
“I condemn it again. The matter is now in court. The court process continues. We believe in justice.”
In October Turkey was awarded joint hosting rights for Euro 2032 alongside Italy.
Buyukeksi said he had already received assurances from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin that Monday’s incident had not jeopardised that project.
“There is no negativity. President Ceferin called and said, ‘We are with you, we are ready to do whatever is necessary’,” Buyukeksi added.
“Please let us not misinform the public. Our goal is to ensure that football is played properly in Turkey and to continue as quickly as possible without any problems.
“But right now, our referee is important, the mental health of our referees is important. Other issues are not important. That is why we are here. We will make the necessary statements later.”
Buyukeksi had earlier said the matter was now in the hands of the police.
Turkish media reported that Koca had also been taken to hospital, where he was under guard and expected to be detained following treatment.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Messi 'will be our No.10 in 2026', hopes Inter Miami chief Mas
Inter Miami fully expect Lionel Messi to remain at the club beyond his current contract ahead of the 2026 MLS season.
Those were the words of Miami's club managing owner, Jorge Mas, who was speaking to the media following Gerardo Martino's resignation earlier on Friday.
Messi joined the MLS side in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, leading the Herons to the Supporters' Shield and Leagues Cup during his time in the United States so far.
His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year, though Mas made clear his desire to see Messi remain with the Herons at Miami Freedom Park, the club's new stadium that will open in 2026.
"He’s under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit, and we’ll discuss the future,” Mas said.
“As I’ve said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami and the opening of our 2026 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
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