Trabzonspor Parts Ways with Fatih Tekke After Europa League Defeat

The Europa League exit cut deep. In the end, it cost Fatih Tekke his job.

Trabzonspor have accepted the resignation of their head coach, days after initially trying to talk him out of leaving in the wake of a brutal 5-0 aggregate defeat to Ferencvaros in the play-off round.

Tekke, 48, had guided the club to a third-place finish in the Super Lig last season and delivered silverware, but the manner of the European elimination proved a breaking point. He tendered his resignation immediately after the tie, only for the club to push back on Friday, suggesting their coach had acted under the “intense emotional impact” of the loss.

The mood has shifted quickly in Trabzon.

On Wednesday, the club confirmed they had now agreed to part company with Tekke, framing the decision as a joint call taken with a cooler head and a longer view.

In a statement, Trabzonspor said they had reached a “mutual understanding” with their coach and decided to separate “in line with Trabzonspor's interests and long-term objectives”.

The message was clear: gratitude, but also a line in the sand.

Over roughly 18 months in charge, Tekke did more than just steady the team. The club credited him with “significant value”, highlighting both sporting and financial gains and, most notably, the return of the Turkish Cup to the club’s museum — a trophy that always carries emotional weight on the Black Sea.

The statement also underlined his role in developing the players brought into the squad during his tenure, a nod to the broader project that had been built around him. Yet the coach himself, according to the club, insisted he would never allow his presence to damage Trabzonspor “in any way”, opening the door to a departure once it became clear that “drawing a new roadmap” had become unavoidable.

So the relationship ends not with a sacking, but with a handshake and a thank you.

Trabzonspor closed their statement by paying tribute to Tekke’s “efforts, his dedicated work, the successes he delivered, and the value he added” to the club.

Now comes the hard part: finding a successor who can match that impact, restore European credibility, and keep pace in a league that rarely waits for anyone.