The president of top tier Turkish soccer club Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, was arrested on Tuesday (December 12) for punching referee Halil Umut Meler in the face at the end of a match on Monday evening (December 11).

The referee told police that he was also kicked while lying on the pitch.

And that Koca also threatened to kill him and his colleagues, local media reported.

Turkey's justice minister said two others were arrested for "injuring a public official".

Lying in a hospital bed in a neck brace, Meler spoke to Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan, as the soccer world reeled from the violence.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said it had suspended all leagues after the "shameful" incident in Ankara.

Footage showed Koca coming on to the field and hitting Meler when the final whistle blew, after Rizespor scored a 97th minute equalizer in the 1-1 draw at Eryaman Stadium.

The justice minister said on social media platform X that the investigation is “continuing meticulously”.

While fellow referee Arda Kardesler spoke on behalf of Meler:

"Good morning, everyone. Everyone saw what happened last night. We have nothing to say. We gathered with all the referees. Our federation and the Central Referee Committee said they will support every decision that we will take and postponed the whole league. However, right now, we are not in a state to discuss or think about refereeing. Our only current priority is for our friend Halil Umut Meler to return to health and his family as soon as possible."

Medics said Meler's fracture will heal, there is no brain damage and he is likely to be discharged on Wednesday.

The federation said Ankaragucu, its chairman, club officials and all those guilty of attacking the referee will be "punished in the strongest terms possible".

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the events were "totally unacceptable and have no place in our sport or society".

Turkish referee attack leaves crisis that goes beyond football

One of Turkey's top football officials may quit the game after he was physically attacked on the pitch by the president of an Ankara club and its fans.

The violent attack on elite referee Halil Umut Meler has left Turkish football in full-blown crisis and magnified concerns about Turkey's institutions.

The referee was treated in hospital after he was punched in the face by MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, after the Ankara-based team conceded a late equaliser in the Turkish capital against Super Lig rivals Caykur Rizespor.

While the referee lay injured, furious fans then stormed on to the pitch and kicked him. Meler told local media that after Faruk Koca had punched him under his left eye, he said: "I will kill you." Ankaragucu's club president has resigned and been placed in pre-trial detention with two others.

The dramatic events after the final whistle underscore the intense emotions surrounding football in Turkey. The sport is massively popular in the country of 85 million people and is a platform that links Turkish politics, business and culture.

The attack has prompted the 37-year old referee on Uefa's elite list to contemplate quitting, according to Ali Kunak, former general secretary of the Turkish Football Federation's central arbitration board, who spoke to Meler and local media on Tuesday.

The violence has also led to an indefinite suspension of Turkish Super Lig games.

The Turkish Football Federation, in a post on X, said it condemned the "inhumane, despicable attack", which it blamed in part on "irresponsible statements of club presidents, managers, coaches, and TV commentators targeting referees".

Violence has long been associated with Turkish football, where it is common to see a heavy police presence at matches across the country.

In March, six people were arrested for clashes involving fireworks before and after a match between Bursa's Bursaspor and Diyarbakir's Amedspor. And last September, a fan burst on to the pitch and violently kicked a Besiktas player following a match against Ankaragucu.

"Football is not only football," said Ozgehan Senuva, professor of international relations at Ankara's Middle East Technical University. "This is only a reflection of the general social situation in Turkey."

Many Turks and the country's Western allies worry about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's tightening grip on Turkey's key institutions, including the judicial system. More than 20 years of Erdogan rule has left a deepening mistrust and sense of injustice that goes way beyond football.

The vast bulk of Turkey's media is controlled by the Erdogan government - 90%, according to Reporters Without Borders - but football has turned into a key venue for political discourse.

"People don't trust the referees and how the referees are appointed. That goes in parallel with the low levels of trust in the judicial system," said Prof Senuva.

But the violence shown towards Halil Umut Meler "is a new threshold for Turkish football", according to Omer Turan, an international relations professor at Istanbul's Bilgi University. "Referees are almost always the scapegoat used to explain unsuccessful results," he said.

Prof Turan pointed out that Faruk Koca, 59, is a former Ankara MP and a current member of President Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development party (AKP).

"[Faruk Koca] thought that being an AKP member would give him immunity. This proved to be a miscalculation," he said.

There was a swift reaction to Monday night's attack from Turkey's president, his AKP, and the justice department.

President Erdogan posted on X: "Sports means peace and brotherhood… We will never allow violence to take place in Turkish sports."

Faruk Koca initially complained to Turkish media that the incident had "developed due to the referee's wrong decisions and provocative behaviour".

However, he said later in a statement on the club website he was deeply saddened that "the club I manage, the football community, and our country are remembered with such an event and image".

He also apologised to the referee, his family and the wider Turkish nation for his attitude.

The justice ministry is investigating the issue and the AKP's disciplinary board is considering a request from the party for Mr Koca's expulsion.

But Turkey's judiciary has long been criticised for its lack of independence and Prof Senuva says the general mood, especially on social media, is that Faruk Koca's connections may ease his path through the courts.

"This is who he is. And this is the culture of [his] club as well. They are proud of being tough guys: it's part of the club's DNA."

Turkish football plunges into crisis after referee attack

Turkey's football plunged into all-out crisis Tuesday following an on the pitch attack on a referee by a club president who was mentioned as a possible candidate for mayor of Ankara.

The top-flight Super Lig indefinitely suspended matches and a court placed MKA Ankaragucu club president Faruk Koca and two others in pre-trial detention for "injuring and threatening a public official".

Images of Monday night's incident showed Koca rushing onto the pitch with a group of men and throwing a punch at referee Halil Umut Meler after he had blown the final whistle.

Koca appeared to be incensed at Meler for sending off one of his players and then awarding a stoppage-time goal that allowed visiting Caykur Rizespor to leave the capital with a 1-1 draw.

Meler fell to the ground and was kicked several times in the ensuing melee.

The 37-year-old match official was shown standing minutes later with a black eye that had swelled up the left part of his face.

He released a statement after being rushed to hospital saying Koca had threatened his life.

"Faruk Koca punched me under my left eye and I fell to the ground. While I was on the ground, they kicked my face and other parts of my body many times," Meler said in a statement.

"Faruk Koca told me and my fellow referees: 'I will finish you'. Addressing me in particular, he said: 'I will kill you'."

- 'Great injustice' -

Koca resigned as club president late on Tuesday but insisted that his team was cheated by the referee.

"No matter how great an injustice or how wrong (the officiating) was, nothing can legitimise or explain the violence that I perpetrated," Koca said in a club statement.

"I apologise to the Turkish refereeing community, the sports public and our nation," Koca added.

The incident pushed all other events off the front pages of the main newspapers in a nation where football passions run deep -- and are often politically linked.

The Turkish Football Federation condemned "this vile attack" and suspended all matches until further notice.

It also prompted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- a one-time football player whose love for the game has helped improve the fortunes of top Turkish clubs -- to issue a late-night appeal Monday for calm.

"Sports means peace and brotherhood. Sport is incompatible with violence," he said in a social media statement.

The Turkish interior ministry later released a video showing Erdogan placing a call to Meler in his hospital bed.

"We are so deeply sorry and we wish you a speedy recovery," Erdogan told the injured referee in the clip.

"I told all our friends, my interior minister, my justice minister and all the other relevant friends to do what is necessary," Erdogan said.

- Political ambitions -

Turkish football is known for its passion and occasional bursts of violence.

A Turkish court briefly arrested 19 people involved in a brawl that broke out during a second-division match in November of last year.

Second-division Bursaspor played seven matches earlier this year in an empty stadium following another incident during which fans chanted anti-Kurdish slogans.

Turkish clubs are followed by legions of fans who often align themselves with various social causes and become a part of the country's political life.

Football supporters played an integral part in 2013 youth-driven protests that formed the first serious challenge to Erdogan's socially conservative government.

The Ankara club leadership and its president are linked closely to Erdogan's ruling AKP party.

Koca told one reporter this year that he could consider running for mayor as the AKP candidate in a closely-watched municipal election scheduled for March 31.

"If I am entrusted with the task of being the metropolitan municipality mayor, I will do what is necessary," Koca said.

Both Ankara and Istanbul are headed by popular opposition politicians who came to power in 2019.

Ankaragucu are in 11th place in the Super Lig after Monday's draw.

Rizespor are four points above them in eighth place.