Meireles Banned for Eleven Games for Spitting at Referee

Former Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles is facing a massive 11 game ban from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).

Now at Fenerbahce, the TFF found that the 29 year old Portuguese had spat on referee Halis Ozkahya during an Istanbul derby with Galatasaray in which he was also sent off.

Meireles denied the claims and also that he had made a homophobic gesture at the official:

“I will be taking legal action against him to prove my innocence. I don’t know what the hand gesture for calling somebody gay is in Turkey but what I did was entirely based around the referee being a coward and bowing to the pressure.”

Galatasaray won the game 2-1 and lead the Super Lig by five points.

Also See:

Editorial: Sorry Everyone, but it’s Time to Respect Referees (and do it publicly)

Peter Walton Interview: ‘We’d Welcome Ex-Players as Refs’