Lifetime ban on a player who criticized Erdogan

Footballer Deniz Naki, who was sentenced to 18 months and 22 days conditionally in April last year for propagation of terrorist propaganda, was sentenced to life by the Turkish football federation.

28-year-old Nakaki can not play for matches in the next three and a half years and is fined $ 273,000 ($ 72,000) for “separatist and ideological propaganda.” Any penalty, which is longer than three years in Turkey, is a ban on living, which means that Naki will not be able to play football again in the country.

Nakaki now plays in the Turkish third division for the team of Amedspor (Diyarbakir). The footballer was born in Germany but has a German and Turkish passport. He was first offended in November by accusations of spreading propaganda in favor of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in his critical posts in Twitter and Facebook in connection with military operations by the Turkish army in the region.

Nakaki said he wants to terminate his contract with Amedsporth and stay in Germany. Earlier this year, he was the subject of an armed attack, but he escaped unharmed.