Arda Turan Handed Record Fine After Alleged Brawl with Turkish Singer

Istanbul Basaksehir have handed on-loan midfielder Arda Turan a €370,000 fine for his involvement in a supposed brawl with Turkish singer Berkay Sahin.

According to AS, it's the heaviest punishment ever handed out in Turkey for such an incident. Turan is currently on loan at Basaksehir from Barcelona.

Per the report, Turan has admitted he was involved in an argument with the singer, but he claims the media have greatly exaggerated details of the incident. Turkish prosecutors are said to be looking for a prison sentence of 12.5 years, suggesting it was more than a simple argument.

The club's statement made it clear Turan will continue to play until the courts have their say: "As this matter is now with a court of law, and reserving the right to make additional decisions and sanctions, we have fined Arda Turan 2.5million Turkish lira and we would like to inform the public that our player's professional obligations to our club will continue until the court makes its final decision in this regard."

According to Goal (h/t Football Espana), the Turkish press claims Turan broke the singer's nose in a fight that started after he made comments about Sahin's wife. He then took a gun to the hospital and "asked the singer to kill him." The 31-year-old denies those claims.

Emre Sarigul of Turkish Football predicted the fine and provided more context on the situation. According to him, Turan discharged the firearm:

Turan moved to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in 2015 but flopped at the Camp Nou. He returned to his native Turkey on loan in January, but things haven't gone smoothly with Basaksehir.

In May, the midfielder was banned for 16 matches for shoving a linesman, per Goal. 

Turan previously made headlines in Spain for occasional violent behaviour and once threw a shoe at a linesman during a Copa del Rey match:

Basaksehir currently sit in third place in the Super Lig standings, three points behind Galatasaray.