Fenerbahçe coach İsmail Kartal announces resignation in Turkey after draw with Roma
In Turkey, Fenerbahçe head coach İsmail Kartal announced his resignation minutes after a 1:1 draw with Italy’s Roma in the Champions League. MyJoyOnline reports.
Kartal made the announcement at the post-match press conference. According to him, he made this decision to “clear the way” for the club and does not plan to return to work at Fenerbahçe. The coach said the decision was made together with the team.
The club president’s position
Fenerbahçe president Aziz Yıldırım said he had not accepted the resignation of the 65-year-old specialist. In a statement on the club’s website, he stressed that Kartal remains in charge of the team and needs support.
According to Yıldırım, he spoke with Kartal after the press conference. The coach cited work-related pressure as well as an incident during the match, when he was hit by a bottle thrown from the stands, among the reasons for his decision.
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The incident and players’ reaction
Fenerbahçe said on social media that it had identified the spectator involved in the bottle incident and banned him from attending the stadium. Yıldırım also criticized the constant pressure and criticism directed at the coach by some fans and media outlets.
The news of Kartal’s announcement came as a surprise to the players. English defender Archie Brown, who equalized in the 48th minute after Bryan Cristante’s first-half goal, said in a post-match interview that he did not know about the coach’s decision.
After four matches in the Turkish Süper Lig, Fenerbahçe was in ninth place, with two wins and two defeats. Kartal returned to the club for his fourth spell as head coach in June 2026. Previously, he won the 2014 Turkish Super Cup with the team, worked as an assistant coach and won two league titles with Fenerbahçe as a player.
