A player in the Turkish third tier has been banned from football for life after allegedly concealing a weapon prior to a match and then using it to attack four opponents.
Amed SK midfielder Mansur Calar sparked outrage last weekend after footage emerged that appeared to show him using a small knife to attack several opponents during a game against Sakaryaspor.
Following the game, Sakaryaspor’s Ferhat Yazgan took to Instagram to post a picture that showed him with slash wounds on his neck.
Four Sakaryaspor players subsequently filed a police complaint against Calar, according to a report in Spanish newspaper As.
(Image: @yenisafakspor/Twitter)
Calar has since been handed a no-travel order by prosecutors investigating the claims, while the midfielder has been ordered to report to a local police station in Diyarbakir every other day.
The Turkish Football Federation has decided not to wait for the outcome of the police investigation, handing down a life ban to the player.
Sakaryaspor coach Ismail Ertekin welcomed the decision as he said: “Beyond a shadow of a doubt he set out to hurt our players. A human being does not do that.
(Image: Ferhat Yazgan/Instagram)
“If the federation had not taken the decision to ban him for life, we would have gone to UEFA to protest and get them to act.”
Amed president Ali Karakas, however, has questioned the federation’s finding.
He said: “This decision is completely unacceptable. It’s wilful and biased.”
(Image: @yenisafakspor/Twitter)
Amed are based in the Kurdish City of Diyarbakir and tension between the two sides was heightened ahead of kick off as footage of Turkish military operations against rebels in the region was shown on big screens.
A group of Sakaryaspor fans tried to raid the Amed changing room before the match while a section of the club’s support sang Ottoman war songs and displayed ultra-nationalist slogans during the game.
On the pitch a highly-charged encounter ended 1-1, both goals coming from the penalty spot.
