Fatih Tekke has withdrawn his resignation as Trabzonspor head coach after the club’s management insisted on keeping him and rejected his unexpected decision, before talks between the two parties convinced him to continue leading the project.
The crisis began after Trabzonspor suffered a 4-0 defeat to Hungarian side Ferencváros on Thursday in the second leg of the Europa League play-offs. The result completed a 5-0 aggregate loss and sent the Turkish club into the league phase of the Conference League.
Tekke surprised everyone by announcing his resignation live on television after the match. He confirmed that neither the management nor the players had known about his decision beforehand and said he wanted to take responsibility for the defeat and “punish” himself after describing it as one of those matches that leaves a deep wound.
The coach explained that he could not accept the result despite his confidence in the squad’s strength and ability to improve, believing his departure might ease the pressure on the club and its supporters. Trabzonspor, however, described the resignation as an emotional decision made under the shock of the defeat, rather than the result of a dispute with the management or a considered assessment of the project.
The board immediately rejected the resignation, and club officials contacted Tekke to persuade him to reconsider, reflecting their confidence in his work and desire to preserve stability. The coach is under contract until June 2029, underlining the club’s commitment to a long-term project with him.
The Turkish coach is expected to lead Trabzonspor’s training session as usual on Friday ahead of the league match against Amedspor, after the club officially confirmed that he would remain in charge of the first team.
Tekke has managed Trabzonspor in 61 competitive matches, recording 35 wins, 14 draws and 12 defeats. He also guided the team to third place in the Turkish league last season with 69 points and won the Turkish Cup after defeating Konyaspor in the final.
After a turbulent few hours that began with a resignation the management knew nothing about and ended with the coach reversing his decision, Tekke will return to work as normal. The Amedspor match will provide the first test of his ability to move beyond the European elimination and quickly restore calm within the team.
