Arda Turan, previously seen on pristine European pitches starring for Atletico Madrid and then sucking for Barcelona, might be headed to a decade-long stay in Turkish prison, per a Marca report. As a result of an October nightclub altercation in Istanbul that turned into so much more, Turan is begin accused of a bevy of crimes: sexual harassment, inflicting intentional injuries, carrying a weapon without a license, and shooting a firearm “in a way to cause panic.”
The 32-year-old midfielder, who is loan from Barcelona at Istanbul Başakşehir, allegedly attacked Turkish singer Berkay Sahin following a failed attempt to pick up Sahin’s wife, Ozlem Ada, on October 10. Sahin alleges that Turan walked up to his wife and said “you’re very pretty, if you weren’t married I wouldn’t let you get away.” When Sahin interjected, Turan allegedly started a scuffle, and the ensuing altercation left the singer with a broken nose.
As if that weren’t enough, Turan allegedly then went to the hospital where Sahin was recovering to apologize in the most Arda Turan fashion: by offering him a gun and telling the singer to shoot him in retaliation, reportedly saying, “Shoot me if you want.” Like you would expect a rational human being to do, Sahin turned down the surely-appealing offer from the soccer star, leading to Turan allegedly taking the gun back and firing it off at the floor in the hospital room.
The four charges could add up to a 12-year sentence for Turan, who was fined 370,000 Euros by his club for “behaviour and attitude not compatible with the club’s ethics.” Sahin is also facing between three months and two years in prison himself for insulting Turan during the kerfuffle.
After news of the original altercation began making the rounds, Turan said on Instagram that the reason for the fight was not about his alleged comment to Ada. He did not clarify his side of the story, but he also did not deny that there was an incident (translation by 101 Great Goals):
I would like to make a statement about the news in the papers. There was an argument on my day off at the place that I went with my friends, but the reason is not about honour and purity as reported. It is not possible to be that way.
This is not Turan’s first brush with bad behavior; he was suspended for 16 games in May of last year for pushing an assistant referee. And, back in 2017, the Turkish international quit the national team following a fight with a journalist on a team airplane on the way back from Macedonia. Turan didn’t quit the team because he felt regret over walloping a reporter for a perceived, year-old slight; no, he just regretted that he was wearing the Turkish national team kit when he did it.
Turan will appear in court again when his trial begins in earnest on June 19, which is, coincidentally, after the current Turkish Süper Lig season ends.