Fatih Terim steps down as Turkish national football team coach

ISTANBUL

Fatih Terim, the coach of the Turkish national football team, resigned from his post on July 26. 

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Chief Yıldırım Demirören confirmed the report, saying that the decision to resign was a mutual consensus.

In a statement on its website, the federation cited “non-football related topics” as “wearing out” both Terim and the TFF.

Terim returned to coaching the national side, his third spell in charge, in 2013. However, he has failed to achieve the same success of his second tenure, when Turkey reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008.

“Recently, several non-football related topics that occupied media coverage has come to a state of wearing out Turkish Football Director Fatih Terim and the Turkish Football Federation,” the statement said. 

“Parting ways is the healthier way for both sides. We would like to thank our valuable manager for his services to Turkish football, who proved himself in Turkey and in the world with his success and wish him good luck for the rest of his life,” added the statement. 

The coach’s resignation came after he was involved in a “brawl” at a restaurant in the resort town of Alaçatı in the Aegean province of İzmir on July 14.

The 63-year-old former Fiorentina, AC Milan and Galatasaray boss along with his sons-in-law and their bodyguards allegedly raided the restaurant and left five men injured after the incident.

The brawl was reportedly ignited due to conflict over a partition wall between the Beeves Steakhouse which is owned by Terim’s son-in-law Ahmet Baran Çetin and the Yüzevler restaurant which is owned by Selahattin Aydoğdu who was the former president of Adana Demirspor football club and a Turkish FA director, in the Turkish resort of Alaçatı.

Terim held a press conference over the incident on July 19, saying that he did not go there to fight.

He said he did not regret what he did, adding that if the same incident happened again, he would do it again.  

Terim said he got involved in the fight because his son-in-law’s sister was abused.