Ismail Kartal resigned as head coach of Fenerbahce just minutes after the Turkish side’s 1-1 draw with Roma in the Champions League.

Kartal made the surprise announcement in his post-match news conference, stating he plans to never return to the club he previously served as a player and assistant coach.

He came back to Fenerbahce for a fourth spell as manager in June 2026, with the club returning to the Champions League for the first time in 18 years.

Now he departs with the team sitting ninth in the Turkish Super Lig after two wins and two defeats, and after only one Champions League match.

“I have been here three months. From the beginning of the season until today, the training sessions and camps we held with the players, and the efforts of our president, have been very helpful. Those were wonderful days,” Kartal said.

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

“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.”

Club president Aziz Yildirim has not accepted 65-year-old Kartal’s resignation.

Yildirim said in a statement released on Fenerbahce’s website, external: “Ismail Kartal is still in charge. The club should support our coach. Until I leave, Ismail Kartal is the head coach of Fenerbahce.”

Yildirim confirmed he spoke to Kartal following the news conference, with the coach citing “pressure” of the role and a mid-match incident where he was struck by a bottle thrown from the stands as factors in his decision.

In a post on social media, the club said a spectator involved in the bottle incident has been identified and banned from the stadium.

Yildirim criticised the attitude of the club’s supporters and the media, pinpointing the “pressure” created by the constant criticism and calling for both parties to “uphold the values of the Fenerbahce community” and show greater respect to Kartal.

Doubling down on Kartal’s future, he said: “This community should support Ismail Kartal. You can’t show support by throwing punches at him like this.

“Ismail Kartal doesn’t need to say he’ll continue. I am his senior. I said he’ll continue, and that’s it. We’re a family.”

Kartal’s announcement came as a shock to Fenerbahce’s players, with English defender Archie Brown, whose 48th-minute equaliser cancelled out Bryan Cristante’s first-half effort for Italian side Roma, completely taken aback in a post-match interview.

When informed of Kartal’s resignation, Brown said: “What do you mean he resigned? As coach? He’s not the coach any more? He said this just now? I didn’t know about this.”

Kartal won the Turkish Super Cup in 2014 during his first spell as manager, having previously spent four years as an assistant coach. As a player, he won two league titles among six trophies with the club.

Former England international Paul Merson believes Arsenal will fail to win the UEFA Champions League this season due to a lack of world-class quality in their frontline.

The Premier League champions opened their 2026/27 European campaign on Wednesday, September 9, securing a 1-0 away victory over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Captain Martin Ødegaard scored a 75th-minute winner in Naples to secure all three points for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Despite the positive start, Arsenal entered the campaign aiming to secure the only major trophy that has continuously eluded the club.

The Gunners reached the 2026 Champions League final on May 30, holding Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw in Budapest before suffering a 4-3 defeat in the penalty shootout.

Merson argues that Arsenal’s current forward options remain insufficient to overcome Europe’s elite clubs in the latter stages of the competition.
“Arsenal’s record last year was amazing in the Champions League up to the final,” Merson stated. “They’re going to be there or thereabouts, I just don’t think they bought that X factor to take them to that level.

“I think they’ve got enough to win them the Premier League with their squad, I just think their forward line against the big boys.”

He added: “I just think they’re missing that little ingredient. If they’d got a Vinicius Junior or a Julian Alvarez then I think that would have given them the edge to go on and win the Champions League, and I think they might just fall short. But they will be there or thereabouts, there’s no doubt about that.”

Merson’s assessment follows a summer transfer window where Arsenal failed to land several primary attacking targets.

The London club tested Atletico Madrid with a €100 million swap proposal for Julián Álvarez, but the Argentina international refused to leave Spain.

Arsenal also explored ambitious moves for Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior and Aston Villa winger Morgan Rogers, ultimately failing to conclude deals for either player.

Arsenal instead added Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, and young winger Christos Tzolis from Sporting CP to their ranks.

Merson believes the Champions League has become the clear priority for the club and its supporters following their domestic league success.

“Now they’ve won the Premier League after a long, long time; I think it would probably be the Champions League,” Merson added.

“I don’t want to talk on behalf of everybody else, but there’s a song that goes around that says, ‘We’ve won it all, we’ve won it all’, and Arsenal haven’t been able to sing that. I would imagine Arsenal fans would like to win that to be able to sing that song at away grounds.”

Prior to it’s Champions League opening encounter with Atlético Madrid on Wednesday , Liverpool have updated their squad for the competition, with four youngsters of Nigerian descent added to the roster..

Defender Welility Lucky, Midfielder Fola Onanuga, winger Rio Ngumoha and forward Josh Sonni-Lambie have been registered on Liverpool’s List B for the Champions League.

A player may be registered on List B if he is born on, or after, 1 January 2005 and, has since had his 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year.

Players aged 16 may be submitted if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption.

While Onanuga, Lucky and Sonni-Lambie arrived at Liverpool at U11, U13 and U14 level respectively, Ngumoha has been on the books of the Reds since September 2024, following his move from Chelsea.

Of the aforementioned players of Nigerian descent, only Ngumoha was expected to be named in the matchday squad to face Atlético Madrid, having been spotted training with the first team at the AXA Training Centre on the eve of the match.

Lucky will wear No. 92 in the Champions League, with Onanuga, Ngumoha and Sonni-Lambie handed No. 99, 73 and 82 respectively.