Yahoo Finance ‘A cancer than will kill football’: Referees chief makes plea after Turkish scandal
Violence towards referees will “kill football” unless the sport takes action, former official Pierluigi Collina has warned, after Turkish ref Halil Umut Meler was assaulted on the pitch this week.
Meler was discharged from hospital on Wednesday after being treated for a fracture under his eye inflicted by a punch from the president of Ankaragucu after a Super Lig game on Monday.
Turkish football chiefs have suspended domestic competitions until next Tuesday, while Meler’s assailant Faruk Koca has resigned as president after being arrested.
“A referee cannot be beaten because of a decision they took, even if it’s wrong,” Collina, now Fifa referees chief, said in a statement released by the governing body.
“His or her cannot be bombed or set on fire because of a penalty kick. Unfortunately this is not an exaggeration, as car bombs and cars being set on fire is something that has happened in some countries, and not so rarely.
“It’s a responsibility for those who love the ‘beautiful game’ to take action and do something. Before it’s too late, before this cancer will kill football.”
It comes after the boss of a referees’ charity said similar scenes would be repeated in the Premier League unless there was a crackdown on dissent and intimidation.
“The desensitisation of ref abuse has been left to fester for far too long,” said Martin Cassidy, the chief executive of Ref Support UK.
“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.”
Meler, one of Turkey’s leading referees, was attacked by Koca at the final whistle, moments after Ankaragucu had conceded a 97th-minute equaliser at home to Rizespor.
The punch sent him sprawling to the floor, where he received kicks to the head while other staff and players tried to protect him from the assault.
“The image of Halil Umut lying on the ground, with his hands protecting his head while he was kicked by his assaulters, as well as the image of the bruise under his eye, are horrific, Collina added.
“But even more horrific is to know that there are thousands of referees around the world who are verbally and physically abused at lower levels of the game, without being reported by media. They are unknown. And the vast majority of them are young referees early in their careers.”
Statement from Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of FIFA Referees Committee, on the abuse of referees in football ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BRLggsDAQD
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) December 13, 2023
