Arda Turan ends Turkish national team career after being fired upon assault on journalist
Turkish international player Arda Turan ended Turkish football team career after He was sacked from the Turkish national football team squad Tuesday by manager Fatih Terim upon verbally and physically assaulting a Turkish sports journalist on a plane.
- Sports
- DPA
- Published Date: 12:00 | 06 June 2017
- Modified Date: 06:27 | 06 June 2017
Turkey captain Arda Turan ended his international career on Tuesday, a day after he came under fire for allegedly assaulting a sports journalist.
"What happened is saddening. Am I regretful, no I am not ... I am ending my national team career," the Barcelona midfielder told a press conference in Slovenia.
Turan allegedly verbally and physically attacked a journalist on a plane en route to Italy's Trieste late on Monday. The national team players and some other media representatives were on board.
Shortly after the reports, Turan was dropped from the national team squad for the coming match against Kosovo on June 10.
The incident reportedly occurred after the 30-year-old Turan was unhappy to see journalist Bilal Mese on the plane. Turan accused the veteran reporter of publishing articles targeting him during Euro 2016 and reportedly grabbed Mese by the throat.