President Büyükekşi visits referee Halil Umut Meler: 'There is no question of losing EURO 2032'
TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi visited referee Halil Umut Meler, who was attacked during the Super Lig match played last night, at the Acıbadem Ankara Hospital where he is receiving treatment.
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Turkish Football Federation President Mehmet Büyükekşi visited Referee Halil Umut Meler at the hospital where he is receiving treatment. President Büyükekşi made statements to members of the press upon leaving the hospital.
Büyükekşi stated, "We just visited our referee Halil Umut Meler. We are here with all our board members. Thank God, as our chief physician indicated to us, our referee's health condition is quite good.
He will be discharged tomorrow. He has a 10-day-old baby. He wants to go to his family as soon as possible. He wants to return to İzmir. This attack has deeply saddened us all. I wish we were not here for such matters. As the TFF, we participated in the 2024 European Championship in the 100th year of our Republic. We honored and made our citizens proud. We earned the right to co-host the 2032 Championship with Italy. But this incident must absolutely not be forgotten. This must be a turning point," he noted.
CLAIMS OF LOSING EURO 2032
Following the incident, President Büyükekşi responded to claims that the EURO 2032 European Football Championship would be taken away from Turkey as follows: "There is no such situation as losing EURO 2032. Aleksandar Ceferin also called and said, 'We are with you.'" The president also added: "We will hold important meetings today, not just to convey get-well wishes. We will hold meetings with our ministers. I specifically request from the public that all parties involved in this incident, both the perpetrators and all stakeholders who caused this, come to their senses."