Fenerbahce coach Ismail Kartal announced he was resigning after being struck by a bottle thrown by a Turkish supporter during his side's 1-1 Champions League draw with AS Roma on Thursday night in Istanbul, only for club president Aziz Yildirim to immediately reject the resignation.
The incident happened at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium during Fenerbahce's first Champions League match in eighteen years. A supporter threw a bottle that hit Kartal during the game.
Kartal, 65, has been in the job only since June. At the post-match press conference he said that for the good of Fenerbahce, his players and future coaches, he was resigning from his position, adding that he intended never to return to it.
Confusion in the dressing room
Total confusion followed the announcement. When a journalist asked English left-back Archie Brown about the resignation, the player, who had scored that night and had also been the man who eliminated Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League playoff round, said he had not been aware his coach was no longer in charge and questioned what the journalist meant.
President refuses to accept resignation
Yildirim then spoke to media to say he would not accept Kartal's resignation. He said some supporters had thrown a bottle at the coach's head during the match and that Kartal was shaken by it. Yildirim said he had just spoken to Kartal, who had brought up the bottle incident and also complained about being under pressure. Yildirim said he told Kartal, as his superior, to continue, adding that the coach was at the start of his mission, that the club supported him and considered itself a family.
A mixed start to the season
Fenerbahce spent heavily over the summer, bringing in players including Mason Greenwood, Romelu Lukaku and Vedat Muriqi. The Istanbul club's Champions League return follows an eighteen-year absence from the competition.
Domestically, results have been harder to come by. Fenerbahce sit ninth in the Turkish Super Lig after four matchdays, having already lost twice, including a derby defeat to Besiktas on Saturday in which they lost 2-1 after leading 1-0.
Bottle thrower identified
Fenerbahce said on X that it had identified the supporter who threw the bottle and had banned him from the stadium, acting in coordination with the Istanbul prosecutor's office.
It remains to be seen whether Kartal will be on the bench for Fenerbahce's next Super Lig fixture, away at Gaziantep on Monday night.
