Mourinho’s Club President Attacked
Ali Koç, the President of Fenerbahçe, was assaulted by a fan who punched him to the ground and threw a water bottle at his head, causing him to bleed during a 2-2 draw against Göztepe in the second round of the Turkish Super League.
The incident occurred on August 17 at the Gürsel Aksel Stadium in Izmir, where Koç was seated in the section reserved for Fenerbahçe supporters. At the start of the second half, he left his seat and went down to the pitch, reportedly to protest against the assault on the club’s fans.
As Koç was returning to his designated area, the attack happened unexpectedly. Initially, a Göztepe staff member approached him aggressively, but the Fenerbahçe President tried to avoid the confrontation by walking around. Shortly after, a fan violently charged at Koç from behind, knocking him to the ground with a punch. The attacker attempted to land more punches, but security intervened in time.
The attack incited the Göztepe supporters, who began hurling bottles and other objects at Koç. According to Turkish media, the Fenerbahçe President suffered significant head injuries and other bodily harm, and had to be taken to the hospital for examination. Security formed a protective shield around Koç, while riot police equipped with shields protected him from the barrage of objects thrown from the stands. The assailant was eventually subdued by police.
After the match, Fenerbahçe midfielder Ismail Yüksek condemned the violence, saying, “What is this hostility? I don’t understand it. I can’t comprehend this aggression in a city where we have millions of fans. Our supporters came to the stadium, our jerseys were burned, our fans were tear-gassed. Our President went down to the pitch to protest this and then he was attacked.”
Fenerbahçe’s official media channels issued a strong statement, describing the event as a night of football terrorism and highlighting the extreme danger of the situation. The assault on Koç is the latest scandal in Turkish football, which has seen increasing instability in recent times.
In April, Fenerbahçe fielded their U19 team and forfeited the Turkish Super Cup match after conceding a goal to Galatasaray just 50 seconds into the game. Earlier in December 2023, after a 1-1 draw with Rizespor, Ankaragücü President Faruk Koca stormed onto the pitch and punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face.
In yesterday’s match at the Gürsel Aksel Stadium, Fenerbahçe led 2-0 at halftime with goals from forwards Edin Džeko and Youssef En-Nesyri. However, Göztepe managed to claw back a point, with goals from Koray Günter in the 68th minute and Romulo Cardoso in the 5th minute of injury time.
In the first round of the season, Koç had already received a yellow card just 20 minutes into Fenerbahçe’s 1-0 victory over Adana Demirspor. A few days later, the Portuguese coach and his team were defeated by Lille in the Champions League qualifiers. This result means Fenerbahçe will endure a 16th consecutive season in the Europa League, marking the first time “The Special One” has been eliminated in the European Cup qualifiers.
