Smack My Pitch Up

Issue #192

The days are short, and the air is chilly. So, bee kind to yourself, and your belly … like this bear in Sivas who ate 50 boxes of honey before hitting the snooze button for the rest of the winter.

In this week’s issue:

• Turkey soccer-punched with new football scandal

• Political parties make election preparations

• Fidan and Erdoğan blame the West for Israel-Gaza violence

• US sanctions hit firms profiting from Russian exports

• Minimum wage hike in the works

• We’re Camin’: Turkey don’t need no education

And do read our reports on Turkey’s missing youth climate activists by Anna Montraveta Riu, Carlos Ortega Sánchez and Burcu Dolanbay as well as the pro-Kurdish party’s pre-election calculations by Eray Görgülü

Ankaragücü to Ankarasuçu. © Getty Images

A football match between Ankaragücü and Çaykur Rizespor doesn’t normally reach world news status, and if it does, you can assume it’s not for the sport part of the game.

After a 1-1 draw Monday night, Ankaragücü president Faruk Koca stormed the field and punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face. As Meler laid on the ground, he was kicked several times and, then, when the referee team was taken off the field by security guards, fans threw objects at them. 

A detention order was issued for Koca and two others the same night of the incident. Since then, the injured referee has been recovering in stable condition, Koca resigned and all Süper Lig matches are suspended until Dec. 19.

Following condemnations from other clubs and Pres. Erdoğan, criticism of Turkish football culture, in general, began to grow on social media – and more so after information resurfaced detailing Koca’s ties to the AKP, where he currently retains membership.

Koca is a former AKP MP as well as Erdoğan’s former landlord and the recipient of the 2022 Fair Play Award. But it wasn’t the first time Ankaragücü board members or Koca, himself, were involved in violent behavior. 

Following the latest incident, the AKP referred Koca to a disciplinary committee, with the verdict still out on whether or not he should be expelled from the party.

İlkan Dalkuç, a writer for Daktilo1984, said the scandal has drawn more reactions than past incidents of violence on the pitch because this one crossed new boundaries. 

“In Turkish football, violence is considered a common occurrence,” he told Turkey recap. “The difference between the latest incident and the previous violent incidents is that the violence was not between the two teams, it was against the institution of refereeing … and the offender was a club president.” 

As with everything in Turkey, there was also a political angle. Politics and football are deeply linked, and there is a culture of impunity for managers, football writer Onur Özgen told The Rival. 

“It is just a small part of our football, which is full of betting gangs, fund profiteers and money launderers,” Özgen said.

Dalkuç added the reputation, interest and immunity provided by football attracts powerful political and economic actors, while underlining:

“The legal revenues generated by football are not enough to cover the expenses. [That’s why] Turkish football needs contributions from the state and these gray actors.”

A lawyer working with sports institutions told Turkey recap this crisis can only be understood through the poor financial status of many clubs. Losing a game means losing money, he said, while also pointing to a general culture of impunity. 

On a similar note, the editor-in-chief of the Maçkolik football channel Buğra Balaban, said it’s impossible to be involved in the Turkish Football Federation without supporting the government. Blaming referees for bad outcomes is also the norm.

“We see that the referees, who have been hit with verbal statements until now, were hit physically in this incident,” Balaban told Turkey recap. 

Throughout, Ankaragücü fan groups have continued to support Koca. Balaban criticized the toxic masculinity of football culture and links it to the increased popularity of Turkey’s women’s national volleyball team.

“Football stadiums are progressing in a divisive way, in the opposite direction of the inclusivity they promise,” he said. “But people are finding community and inclusiveness in volleyball.”

– Onur Hasip Yılmaz