Turkish Cypriot footballer banned for life for kicking referee in the head

A footballer in north Cyprus was handed a lifetime ban on Friday for kicking a referee in the head during a match last weekend.

Hasan Cagakan Caka, 26, who played for Famagusta-based second-tier side Canakkale, was handed three separate punishments which, when combined, constitute a lifetime ban.

He was handed a 30-match ban for “physically assaulting a referee”, a 15-match ban for “insulting, threatening, and swearing at a referee”, and a 113-match ban for “seriously assaulting” a referee.

According to the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA)’s internal regulations, any individual who receives more than three years’ worth of bans is automatically banned for life. Clubs in the north typically play a little over 30 games per season, and as such, Caka will never play football again.

Canakkale chairman Abbas Mendeli apologised to the CTFA for the incident and expressed his “discomfort” that his club had been associated with such actions. He added that all ties between the club and Caka had been cut.

The incident occurred during Canakkale’s match against Vadili at home on Saturday. With a quarter of an hour remaining in the game and Canakkale 1-0 up, Caka launched a flying kung-fu kick at referee Mustafa Torun’s head.

He had been angered by Torun’s decision to send one of his teammates off and remonstrated with him. After he was also sent off, he removed his shirt and launched the kung-fu kick.

The match was immediately abandoned and Torun was taken to hospital, where it was determined that he had suffered a fractured left cheekbone.