Fenerbahce manager Ismail Kartal resigns before president orders him to stay

Fenerbahce manager Ismail Kartal announced his resignation after his side drew 1-1 with Roma in their first Champions League campaign for 18 years, only for club president Aziz Yıldırım to say minutes later that he would remain in charge.

Kartal, 65, made the announcement during a news conference after the match. According to comments published by Reuters, he said he would leave and would not return, adding that he had taken the decision to clear the way for the club.

But Yıldırım subsequently contradicted the manager, insisting Kartal would continue in his role.

“Some supporters threw a bottle at the manager’s head during the match this evening. It affected him,” Yıldırım said.

“I have just spoken to Ismail Kartal. He mentioned the bottle incident and also complained about being under pressure.”

Asked whether Kartal had told him publicly that he would remain as manager, Yıldırım replied: “There is no need for him to say publicly that he will continue. I am older than him, and I told him to carry on with his work. That is the end of it. We are a family.”

Kartal spent a decade as a player at Fenerbahce before taking charge of the club during the 2014-15 season. He later served as caretaker manager in 2021-22, then returned to the position on a permanent basis for the 2023-24 season.

He had also been an assistant manager at Fenerbahce during the club’s two most recent Turkish Super Lig title wins. Kartal returned for his fourth spell as manager in June.

Fenerbahce have finished second in the Turkish Super Lig in each of the past five seasons. This season, they reached the league phase of the Champions League for the first time in 18 years.

The draw with Roma marked the opening stage of that return to European club football’s leading competition, but the match was followed by an unusual dispute over Kartal’s position, with the manager announcing his departure and the president immediately rejecting the idea that he would leave.