Trabzonspor Boss Locks Referee in Stadium Until 4am for Refusing to Give Penalty

Not even Jose Mourinho would try this stunt.

The president of Turkish club Trabzonspor was so annoyed that referee Cagatay Sahan failed to give his side a penalty during a 2-2 draw with Gaziantepspor, that he locked the official, and his three assistants, in the stadium until 4am. 

They might have been imprisoned even longer if it hadn't been for a phone call from the president of the entire country. 

The Guardian reported the amazing story. 

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The boss of Turkish football club Trabzonspor locked four match officials in a stadium overnight for failing to award his team a penalty, only to release them under escort from special forces after a phone call from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The enraged club president, Ibrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, ordered Çağatay Şahan and his assistant referees to be detained after Trabzonspor were denied a penalty in the final minutes of the top-flight match against Gaziantepspor, which ended 2-2.

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Haciosmanoglu tried to explain his actions: "I told stadium security not to let the referees leave until the morning, until I arrived, but a very important person called me and asked me not to cause embarrassment in Turkey and around the world. He promised the [penalty] incident would be investigated."

Haciosmanoglu might be hoping for the penalty incident to be investigated but, unsurprisingly, the Turkish FA are also looking into his actions. 

Update, November 4 

Haciosmanoglu was handed a hefty penalty for his audacious act: banning him for 280 days from doing any of his work-related duties and slapped with a fine of £34,250, according to The Mirror. 

Two other club directors were hit with bans of 410 days and six officials involved with the incident were suspended for a year. 

[Guardian]