Arda Turan Faces 12.5 Years in Prison for Alleged Assault on Turkish Singer

By: Toni

Posted: October 16, 2018

Updated: October 16, 2018

The Turkish prosecutors are demanding a 12.5-year prison sentence for the Turkish football star, after charging him for an alleged physical altercation with prominent singer Berkay Sahin.

From the Barcelona dressing room to a prison cell?

Arda Turan, who is currently plying his trade with Istanbul Basaksehir, was caught on video footage being involved in a scuffle outside of an Istanbul nightclub. Although not all of the events of the night were shown on camera, Turan purportedly broke Sahin’s nose that resulted from a physical fight. The entire matter transpired over Sahin’s wife Ozlem Ada Sahin, whom Turan – supposedly not being aware was the singer’s wife - was trying to ‘smooth talk’ to while at the club. Sahin then supposedly sent his wife home in order to face Turan one on one, according to providers of internet betting in Turkey. https://youtu.be/f7gh48vNoGY Later in the evening, camera’s show Turan walking around a hospital trying to reach Sahin, in what is to be believed was his intent to apologize for the matter, despite him and his entourage visibly wielding a gun that was once again caught on camera. Turan posted a message on his Instagram account, expressing his side of the story which involves him denying some parts of the transpired events that night. https://youtu.be/TQSOAtRRgyQ The 31-year-old football star said:

“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.”

How will Istanbul Basaksehir and Barcelona react to the controversy?

Turan is still registered as a Barcelona player, but has been signed with Basaksehir on loan since January. According to online sportsbooks in Turkey, the loan agreement between the two clubs lasts for another two seasons, by which time his five-year contract with the Spanish side will have ended, and thus he will have been released for free allowing him to sign up with whatever side he chooses. The attacking midfielder was signed by the Catalan giants in the summer of 2015 from Atletico Madrid for a reported fee of €34m, plus another €7m in variables. At the time he was in his prime and was expected to replicate his best performances at the Nou Camp, once Barcelona’s transfer ban had ended in January of 2016. His maiden season with the Blaugrana side ended with 25 appearances and 2 goals, but the following campaign (2016/17) which was his first full season, Turan significantly increased his effectiveness in front of goal; he bagged 13 goals, although he played in only 30 games that season. Following Luis Enrique’s decision to leave the club after three fruitful years, and the influx of new players in Turan’s position, saw the Turk deemed surplus to requirements under new manager Ernesto Valverde. Despite speculation linking Turan to other clubs, he stayed put until Basaksehir came calling in the January transfer window. Now that his name is brought up controversially in the media, there’s no certainly as to how the Istanbul side will deal with him. Whether they’ll stick with their loaned player, or whether they’ll decide to cut ties remains to be seen.