Barcelona’s Turkish star Arda Turan quits international football

TIL Desk Sports/ Turkey’s national team captain and Barcelona star Arda Turan has announced his retirement from international football after he allegedly abused a journalist on the Turkish team’s plane.

The 30-year-old Barcelona midfielder was reported to have verbally and physically abused Bilal Mese from the local daily Milliyet on a flight following a friendly against Macedonia in Skopje on Monday.

Turan was immediately kicked out of a training camp in Slovenia by coach Fatih Terim with whom he is already on bad terms and quit the national team hours later. On the plane, he allegedly had to be restrained by teammates as he grabbed the journalist by the throat, swearing at him.

“I think the time has come,” Turan said during a press conference boycotted by Turkish journalists in solidarity of their colleague. “I have done wrong while wearing the jersey of my (national) team and I am ending my career with the national team,” he added.