"I'm gonna kill you!" He was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison for assaulting the referee and stopping the league
Nov 12, 2024
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Turkiye news agency Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on the 11th (Korea time) that former president Ankara Guizu Farooq Coca of Turkiye's Schiffer League was sentenced to more than three years in prison on charges of assaulting the referee.
Former president Coca stormed the stadium after the league game between Ankara Guizu and Liszt Spor was tied 1-1 in December last year and hit referee Halil Umut Mellor, who was in charge of the game at the time. The video showed former president Coca shouting "I'm going to kill you" and punching referee Mellor in the face, shocking soccer fans.
After being punched and collapsed, the referee was kicked by a club official and suffered a trauma to the head.
Former president Coca is said to be furious that the referee sent off an Ankara Guizu player and did not recognize the goal. Liespor equalized in second-half stoppage time.
The Türkiye Football Federation condemned the attack as an `obscene act' and suspended the Schiffer League for eight days before filing criminal charges against former president Kocha and other people involved in the incident. Former chairman Kocha stepped down as chairman after making an official apology, but claimed that his team had been deceived by the referee.
On the 11th, the court sentenced former chairman Kocha to three years and seven months in prison on charges of intentionally injuring a public sports official. Three other officials were sentenced to one to five years in prison.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
