Fenerbahçe SK president Aziz Yıldırım has rejected manager İsmail Kartal's resignation. Kartal offered to step down after a water bottle thrown from the stands hit him during Thursday's 1-1 Champions League draw with AS Roma.
Yıldırım announced his decision immediately after speaking with the coach. The president stated, "There’s no need for him to say (openly) that he’d continue." Kartal, explaining his resignation attempt, said he was leaving "never to return" and had taken the decision "to clear the way for the club."
The club identified and banned the individual responsible for the incident. İsmail Kartal, a former Fenerbahçe player with a decade at the club, first managed the team in the 2014-15 season. He served as interim coach in 2021-22, had a full campaign in 2023-24, and returned for a fourth spell this June. The team has finished second in the Turkish top flight in each of the last five seasons.
This season, Fenerbahçe qualified for the Champions League league phase for the first time in 18 years. In the Süper Lig, they currently sit 11th with 7 points from 5 matches. Their form in the last five official games reads 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 defeat, with a 0-0 draw against Gaziantep FK being the most recent result. The team's next league fixture is away to 14th-placed Başakşehir on December 6. Kartal will now continue in his role, focusing on steering the team through this challenging period.
This story first appeared at aljazeera.com
