Trabzonspor parted ways with head coach Fatih Tekke on Wednesday, reversing a decision made just days earlier to reject his resignation. The Turkish club had initially pushed back on Tekke's request to step down, describing it as an "emotional" reaction to a painful Europa League exit. By Wednesday, both sides had reached what the club called a "mutual understanding."
The trigger for the crisis was a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Hungarian club Ferencvaros in the Europa League play-off round. Trabzonspor had initially refused to accept the resignation on Friday, saying the 48-year-old made his decision under the "intense emotional impact" of the loss. Four days later, the club changed course.
According to BBC Sport, the club released a formal statement confirming the split and crediting Tekke for his work during his roughly 18-month tenure. The statement was direct about the reasoning: "At this point, we reached a mutual understanding with our coach - who stated he would never allow his presence to harm Trabzonspor in any way - that drawing a new roadmap, prioritising the club's interests above all else, had become unavoidable."
The statement also acknowledged what Tekke accomplished during his time in charge. "Over his approximately 18-month tenure, Fatih Tekke brought significant value to Trabzonspor," the club said. "Beyond contributing to the development of the players added to our squad during this period, he delivered important sporting and financial gains for our club. By bringing the Turkish Cup back to our museum, he once again wrote his name into Trabzonspor's history."
The club closed with: "We thank our coach for his efforts, his dedicated work, the successes he delivered, and the value he added to Trabzonspor."
Tekke had led the club to a third-place finish in the Super Lig last season, a result that was not enough to save his position once the European campaign fell apart so badly. The Ferencvaros defeat was not just a loss. It was a five-goal swing across two legs that ended the club's hopes of Europa League group stage football.
Despite the coaching upheaval, Trabzonspor will still compete in Europe this season. The club qualified for the Europa Conference League, where they will face six opponents including Scottish side Hearts.
The managerial situation is not the only major storyline surrounding the club this summer. Trabzonspor made several high-profile signings before the season began. Mohamed Salah, 34, signed with the club last month after mutually agreeing to end his contract at Liverpool. Salah is the third-highest scorer in Liverpool's history, behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt, after scoring 257 goals in 442 appearances since joining from Roma in 2017. He wasted little time making an impact, scoring his first two goals for Trabzonspor in a 2-1 win against Istanbul Basaksehir on Saturday.
The club also brought in Fabinho, a Premier League winner with Liverpool, and goalkeeper Andre Onana rejoined the club on loan from Manchester United. That roster carries significant weight heading into Conference League competition. The question now is who will be leading that squad from the sideline.
Trabzonspor have not announced a replacement for Tekke. The club's next steps in the coaching search will come as the Conference League group stage approaches.
