Turkish top-flight team leave pitch in protest

A Turkish top-flight game was suspended after Istanbulspor’s president withdrew his team from the pitch in protest at a refereeing decision in their match against Trabzonspor.

The incident came on the day Turkish football resumed, a week after it was suspended when a referee was punched.

Trabzonspor were leading 2-1 after Paul Onuachu’s header in the 68th minute.

But Istanbulspor claimed they should have had a penalty prior to their opponents’ second goal being scored.

President Ecmel Faik Sarıalioglu went down to the pitch and withdrew his players in protest in the 73rd minute.

Some Istanbulspor players tried to persuade the president to reconsider his decision. with Ivory Coast defender Simon Deli pictured kneeling in front of him.

“It is a sad day for football… We will wait for the football federation’s decision from now on,” Trabzonspor coach Abdullah Avci said.

Trabzonspor posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the match “was stopped in the 73rd minute due to the players of the opposing team withdrawing from the field”.

Istanbulspor are bottom of the Super Lig.

Last week, Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca was arrested after he ran on to the pitch and struck referee Halil Umut Meler following a 1-1 draw with Caykur Rizespor.

The incident, which attracted worldwide attention and was widely condemned, saw the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspend all leagues in the country for a week.

Koca has been given a permanent ban by the TFF.

As fixtures resumed on Tuesday, children wearing T-shirts that said “respect” presented flowers to the referees before Basaksehir’s match with Sivasspor.

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