An attack on a British football referee is "just around the corner", according to the head of a charity supporting match officials after a referee in Turkey was punched by a club's president.
Matches in Turkey's SuperLig were suspended indefinitely after Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca rushed onto the field after Monday's game against Caykur Rizespor and threw a punch at referee Halil Umut Meler.
Koca appeared to be incensed at Meler for awarding a stoppage-time penalty kick that allowed visiting Caykur Rizespor to leave Ankara, the capital of Turkey, with a 1-1 draw.
Meler fell to the ground and was kicked several times in the ensuing melee.
Hakem Halil Umut Meler'e Tekmeli Yumruklu Saldırının Yeni Görüntüleri. 3 Saldırgan Böyle Görüntülendi. #halilumutmeler #FarukKoca #emrebelezoglu #futbol #saldiri #skandal #haber #sondakika #Ankaragucu #rizespor #TFFİSTİFA #mehmet pic.twitter.com/uLHghb3JXy
— Turkey Gündem (@Turkey_gundem) December 12, 2023
With Premier League referees often subjected to virulent criticism on social media, Ref Support UK chief executive Martin Cassidy said on Tuesday he was unsurprised by events in Turkey.
"The desensitisation of ref abuse has been left to fester for far too long and an incident like this, live on TV, is just around the corner in top-flight football in the UK unless we have a huge change in attitude and culture towards match officials at all levels of the game," Cassidy said.
He added he hoped Meler made a full recovery while warning: "Referees are an endangered species due to abuse, threats and assaults."
He also said his organisation received reports of "similar or worse" incidents to the one in Turkey every week of the season, with referees as young as 14 receiving abuse and intimidation.
English referees' chief Howard Webb said Meler had been the victim of a "shameful attack".
He added: "There is no game without match officials. Like all participants, they need to be valued and respected for the good of the game."
England's governing Football Association is trialling the use of body cameras for referees in eight county FAs as a means of deterring abuse.
The FA said last week no incidents of abuse had been reported in around 500 matches since the trial began in February.
Last month, the International Football Association Board, the sport's global rule-making body, backed a proposed trial where only the team captain is permitted to approach the referee in certain situations, echoing the procedure in rugby.