Fenerbahçe has accepted coach İsmail Kartal’s resignation after efforts to persuade him to stay failed on Sept. 11.
Kartal missed the team’s noon training session at the Can Bartu facilities and held talks with football director Oğuz Çetin, but maintained his decision to leave.
He announced his resignation after a 1-1 home draw with Roma in the Champions League opener on Sept. 10. Club President Aziz Yıldırım initially rejected the decision and insisted he would remain in charge.
“I am resigning this evening, never to return,” Kartal told a post-match news conference at Chobani Stadium.
He said he wanted to clear the way for the club, thanked his players, staff and the management for their support during his three months in charge, and declined to take questions.
Yıldırım said Kartal had been hit on the head by a water bottle thrown from the stands and linked his decision to the incident. He urged supporters to stand behind the coach and criticized the media’s treatment of him.
“İsmail Kartal remains in charge,” Yıldırım said after the match. “You cannot support someone by throwing a bottle at his head.”
The president said Fenerbahçe’s return to the Champions League after an 18-year absence deserved recognition.
The club said police had identified and questioned the person who threw the bottle. He was barred from attending sports events under Türkiye’s law on violence in sport.
Assistant coach Dirk Kuyt is expected to lead the side against Gaziantep in the league.
