Fatih Tekke Resigns from Trabzonspor After Europa League Exit

Fatih Tekke’s turbulent week at Trabzonspor has ended with the club accepting his resignation, days after they initially tried to talk him out of walking away.

The 48-year-old coach, who guided Trabzonspor to a third-place finish in the Super Lig last season, quit in the aftermath of a bruising Europa League play-off exit to Ferencvaros, losing 5-0 on aggregate to the Hungarian side. The defeat cut deep. Tekke offered his resignation immediately.

Trabzonspor’s first reaction was to hold the line. On Friday, the board rejected his request, suggesting their former striker had acted under the “intense emotional impact” of the European collapse and hinting they wanted him to stay and steady the season.

That stance has now flipped.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the club confirmed they had reached a “mutual understanding” with Tekke and agreed to part ways, stressing the decision was taken “in line with Trabzonspor’s interests and long-term objectives”.

The tone was respectful, even protective of a figure who remains woven into the club’s modern story. Trabzonspor underlined that across his roughly 18-month spell in charge, Tekke “brought significant value” to the team, highlighting both “important sporting and financial gains”.

The most tangible of those came last season. Tekke delivered the Turkish Cup, a trophy the club proudly said he had “brought back to our museum”, a line that underlined how strongly they link him to their honours list and identity.

The statement also praised his work on the training ground, noting his role in the development of players added to the squad during his tenure. For a club that leans heavily on smart recruitment and player trading, that detail mattered.

The turning point came in private talks. According to Trabzonspor, Tekke told the hierarchy he would never allow his presence to “harm Trabzonspor in any way”. From there, both sides accepted that “drawing a new roadmap, prioritising the club’s interests above all else, had become unavoidable”.

With that, the club closed the chapter, thanking their departing coach “for his efforts, his dedicated work, the successes he delivered, and the value he added to Trabzonspor”.

A bruising European exit has now cost them the man who brought back a domestic trophy and a top-three finish. The question for Trabzonspor is simple and stark: who comes next to keep that upward curve from snapping?