(MENAFN) On Wednesday, Halil Umut Meler, a Turkish football referee who endured a shocking post-game punch from the president of Turkish Super Lig team MKE Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, was released from the hospital. The incident occurred on Monday, right after a match against Caykur Rizespor.
"He is fine, in good spirits. He will be checked out wherever he goes, but at the moment he has no problems other than swelling in his eye," declared Dr. Mehmet Yorubulut, the head of medicine in Acibadem Ankara Hospital in the Turkish capital.
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, the global football governing body, deemed the incident "totally unacceptable."
Pierluigi Collina, the head of the FIFA Referees Committee and a renowned former Italian referee, expressed his support for Meler.
"Neither the referee, nor the man, deserved to live the experience he lived yesterday … He was doing his job when he was assaulted on the field of play at the end of a match he just officiated," stated Collina in a declaration.
On Tuesday, Koca was placed in custody following the attack.
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