ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former manager of a top soccer club to more than three and a half years in prison for attacking a referee on the field at the end of a soccer match. championship last season.

MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face after the final whistle of a 1-1 draw in a Super Lig match against Caykur Rizespor last year.

Meler, who fell to the ground, was also kicked during a melee that occurred when fans also invaded the pitch after Rizespor scored a last-minute equalizer on December 11, 2023.

The incident sparked global outrage and prompted the Turkish Football Federation to suspend all league matches for several weeks.

The Ankara court found Koca guilty of “intentional injury to a public official” and sentenced him to three years and seven months in prison, the official Anadolu agency reported.

The court also found Koca guilty of threatening the referee and violating laws aimed at preventing violence in sport, but suspended his sentence.

Three other people, also tried for attacking the referee, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to five years, the agency reported.

Koca, who resigned as club president shortly after the incident, is expected to appeal the verdict. He was briefly jailed last year before being released on bail.

Earlier, lawyers representing the defendants had called for their acquittal, saying they committed the crime under “unjust provocation”, Anadolu reported.

Ankaragucu was fined 2 million Turkish liras ($59,000) and forced to play five home games without fans.

The referee was briefly hospitalized due to a small fracture near his eye.

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