Turkish footballer applies to Constitutional Court to complain about Zokora kick

ISTANBUL

Emre Belözoğlu, Fenerbahçe’s team captain, said in his appeal that Trabzonspor player Zokora’s kick was intentional. AA photo

Turkish footballer Emre Belözoğlu has appealed to the Constitutional Court after a court refused to hear a case concerning a sequence in a 2012 match in which Trabzonspor player Didier Zokora allegedly kicked the Fenerbahçe midfielder.

Emre’s appeal will be one of the first individual appeals to be brought before the top court since such applications were made possible with a recent judicial reform package.

Emre, Fenerbahçe’s team captain, said in his appeal that Zokora’s kick was intentional. He also filed an official complaint about Sadri Şener which claims that he was threatened and insulted harshly by the then-Trabzonspor president on a TV show.

The Fener player demanded in his appeal to reverse a decision not to prosecute the Trabzonspor figures for their alleged misdeeds, among other requests.

The feud between Zokora and Emre first erupted when the Ivorian player claimed he was racially abused by the Turkish international in a Super League playoff game in 2012. However, The Turkish player denied the claims of racism, adding that he only shouted obscenities at Zokora, not any racist statements.

In the end, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) conducted an investigation and found Emre guilty, handing the Turkish football player a two-match ban while stopping short of pressing any racism charges.

In the first game after the controversy, Zokora landed a heavy kick on Emre, earning himself a yellow card.