Soccer player draws manslaughter charge for brutally kicking opponent’s head

Soccer is known as “the beautiful game,” but what happened recently when two amateur Turkish teams met was viciously ugly.

After being sent off with a red card for taking down his Dallicaspor opponent Kayhan Karakas, Sanayispor player Mehmet Degirmenci doled out a brutal kick to Karakas’s head. The incident nearly caused a full-field brawl as Karakas’s teammates attempted to chase Degirmenci down as he exited the pitch.

Degirmenci’s violent outburst not only cost him his spot on the team, but it also might cost him some years behind bars. According to the Daily Sabah, Degirmenci now faces manslaughter charges for the kick that resulted in nine stitches to Karakas’s face.

“Thank God that kick came near my jaw,” Karakas told reporters after being sent to the hospital for treatment. “If it had hit me directly in the face, it could have broken my nose, made me blind or break my neck.”

Karakas did not lose consciousness immediately after the kick, but after initially getting bandaged up and deciding to return to the game, he eventually collapsed with concussion symptoms, including nausea and vertigo.

Degirmenci, who later expressed regret over his actions, now possibly faces one to three years in prison, according to Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper.

(H/t: Deadspin)