Trabzonspor head coach Fatih Tekke announced his resignation after the Turkish club suffered a 4-0 away defeat to Hungary's Ferencvaros and were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League playoff round.

Tekke announced his decision in a television interview following the match, taking responsibility for the defeat.

“We had a very sad night. Of course, the reason is me and my team. We had a sad night for both our country and our club,” he said. “It looked like it was going to be a positive match until the red card. As a result, we didn’t qualify for the Europa League. For the past 18 months, my team and I have been working day and night, giving it our all, trying to figure out what we could do to improve. The team will be much, much better—that’s for sure. I won’t drag this out. As of now, I am resigning from my 18-month tenure. I feel I have the right to impose this punishment on myself.”

Tekke said he had not informed Trabzonspor management before publicly announcing his resignation.

“I haven’t told the management about my resignation. I’m saying this on TV for the first time. No one knows.”

Reflecting on his tenure at the club, Tekke said the defeat was “unacceptable.”

“I’m resigning from a very honorable position. Today’s loss is unacceptable. Misfortunes and bad luck are all acceptable, but I cannot accept this. I can’t even sleep like this. May everyone forgive me. We did our best. There are some games that really hurt you. We just went through one of those games,” he said.

Tekke took charge of Trabzonspor in March 2025 and guided the Black Sea club to third place in the Turkish Super Lig with 69 points last season, as well as the Turkish Cup title.

Trabzonspor strengthened their squad this summer by signing Egyptian star Mohamed Salah on a two-year deal.

The team will continue their European campaign in the UEFA Conference League league phase, despite their Europa League elimination. (AA)