Football referee charity warns attack on UK official ‘just around the corner’
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Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Askin Bak (centre right) visiting Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler, who was hospitalised after being punched.
PHOTO: AFP
LONDON – An attack on a British football referee is “just around the corner”, according to the head of a charity supporting match officials after a referee in Turkey was punched by a club president.
Matches in Turkey’s SuperLig were suspended indefinitely after Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca rushed onto the field after a game on Dec 11 against Caykur Rizespor and threw a punch at referee Halil Umut Meler.
Koca appeared to be incensed at Meler for awarding a stoppage-time penalty kick that allowed the visiting team to leave Ankara with a 1-1 draw. Meler fell to the ground and was kicked several times in the ensuing melee.
With English Premier League referees often subjected to virulent criticism on social media, Ref Support UK chief executive Martin Cassidy said on Dec 12 he was not surprised by events in Turkey.
“The desensitisation of ref abuse has been left to fester for far too long and an incident like this, live on TV, is just around the corner in top-flight football in the UK, unless we have a huge change in attitude and culture towards match officials at all levels of the game,” he said.
He added he hoped the 37-year-old Meler made a full recovery while warning: “Referees are an endangered species due to abuse, threats and assaults.”
He also said his organisation received reports of “similar or worse” incidents to the one in Turkey every week of the season, with referees as young as 14 receiving abuse and intimidation.
Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca entered the field and hit the referee when the final whistle blew during Ankaragucu’s home match against Rizespor.
PHOTO: REUTERS
English referees’ chief Howard Webb said Meler had been the victim of a “shameful attack”. He added: “There is no game without match officials. Like all participants, they need to be valued and respected for the good of the game.”
Thankfully for Meler, he was discharged from hospital on Dec 13 with a swollen eye but no other health issues.
Mehmet Yorubulut, chief doctor at Acibadem hospital, said the head fracture he suffered would heal in time.
“The bleeding in Meler’s left eye has almost completely stopped,” he added.
England’s governing Football Association (FA), meanwhile, is trialling the use of body cameras for referees in eight county FAs as a means of deterring abuse.
The FA said last week that no incidents of abuse had been reported in around 500 matches since the trial began in February.
In November, the International Football Association Board, the sport’s global rule-making body, backed a proposed trial where only the team captain is permitted to approach the referee in certain situations, echoing the procedure in rugby. AFP, REUTERS
