Kartal shockingly resigns as Fenerbahce boss, club president does not accept decision

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Fenerbahce boss Ismail Kartal announced his shock resignation after their Champions League match with Roma, but club president Aziz Yildirim has not accepted the decision.

The Turkish giants drew 1-1 with Roma after Archie Brown cancelled out Bryan Cristante’s opener in Turkiye.

Brown became the first English player to score in this season’s Champions League, while he is also the sixth English defender to net for a non-British side in the competition after Jonathan Woodgate, Fikayo Tomori, Ross Sykes, Lloyd Kelly and Eric Dier.

However, despite the well-earned point to start their league phase, drama unfolded after the full-time whistle for Fener.

Kartal, who was struck by a bottle during the match, stunned everyone by revealing his decision to resign in his post-match press conference.

“As of this evening, I congratulate my players and resign from my position,” Kartal said.

“I made this decision to pave the way for my club. We made this decision together as a team.

“From now on, to help Fenerbahce, my players and future coaches, I have resigned from my position, with the intention of never returning.”

Başkanımız Aziz Yıldırım: “Teknik Direktörümüz İsmail Kartal, görevinin başındadır.”

— Fenerbahçe SK (@Fenerbahce) September 10, 2026

Despite the coach’s statement, club president Yildirim has no intention of letting Kartal leave his role.

“Ismail resigned suddenly. We weren’t expecting it,” Yildirim said in a club statement.

“Ismail Kartal doesn’t need to say ‘I will continue.’ I am his senior. I said ‘You will continue,’ and that’s it.

“We are a family! There’s nothing wrong with us. The incident happened when a bottle was thrown at his head while the score was 1-1. People started shouting from there. The fans were shouting without knowing what was happening.”

This is Kartal’s fourth spell as Fenerbahce boss, but he has only won six of his 11 games since taking over in June (D3 L2).

Overall, he has taken charge of 135 matches since his first stint in charge in 2014, winning 92 games (D25 L18).

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