Galatasaray’s Marcao was red carded after headbutting and punching his own team-mate on Monday.
The Brazilian defender was dismissed just after the hour mark of Gala’s 2-0 league win over Giresunspor after losing it with winger Muhammed Kerem Akturkoglu.
The centre-back seemed to take exception to something that Akturkoglu said, as well as the winger putting his finger to his lips in a ‘be quiet’ gesture.
He responded by running from his own half to headbutt and then throw punches at the winger, and had to be restrained by team-mates before he was shown a red card.
“It is not a common occurrence,” said Galatasaray manager Fatih Terim.
“We all have all kinds of arguments in the dressing room, on the field. This is the first time I have seen such a position with his own team-mate on the field.
“We don’t know what’s going on yet. Whatever it is, it’s not nice.
“This incident was not pleasant in any way, but the solution belongs to us. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out somehow.”
We often hear about training ground bust-ups (remember when Roberto Mancini had a tussle with Mario Balotelli?) but team-mates scrapping with one another during matches is less common.
That’s not to say it’s entirely without precedent. The most famous example is probably that of Kieron Dyer v Lee Bowyer, 2005. The two then-Newcastle teammates had a proper barney with one another on the pitch during a 3-0 home defeat by Aston Villa.
Way back in 1995, Graeme Le Saux punched his Blackburn Rovers team-mate David Batty during a Champions League encounter with Spartak Moscow.
Marcao, 25, has been a bit of a mainstay for Galatasaray since he joined in 2019, with 107 appearances. He was shown a straight red after the incident went to video review on Monday and may face a lengthy suspension.
Asked about sanctions for the player, Terim added: “Marcao will first come out and apologize to Kerem, his team-mates, Galatasaray fans, Turkish football and everyone. We’ll see later.”
