A man has been detained after Galatasaray midfielder Lucas Torreira punched him outside a cafe and the former Arsenal star was targeted by someone who posted threatening things against him.
Lucas Torreira faces targeted assault charges
Galatasaray midfielder Lucas Torreira was beaten outside a cafe in the Beyoğlu district and a man was taken into custody, police said.
The former Arsenal star, who has been playing in Turkey since 2022, suffered an abrasion around his left eye in the attack. Torreira has filed a formal complaint against the suspect and is pursuing charges.
It turned out that the culprit had a criminal record. Authorities also discovered that a restraining order was already in place against the suspect at the time of the assault.
The incident occurred at a cafe in a shopping mall in the Kamike beer district. Police were called to the scene and detained the suspect as he tried to get into a taxi to flee the scene.
read more: FIFA considers giving World Cup referees additional powers to deal with grappling in penalty boxread more: Arsenal’s brutal prediction for the Champions League final: ‘It could get ugly’
As part of the investigation, it was revealed that the criminal had previously made threatening posts targeting Lucas Torreira, Haberer reported.
Torreira joined the Turkish side from Arsenal and won the Super Lig title in each of his four years with the club. The Uruguayan fell down the pecking order in north London, but loan spells with Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina later ensured he left permanently.
The midfielder was signed by Unai Emery in 2018 after impressing with Sampdoria. His combative style initially made him popular, and he scored in a famous 4–2 win against Tottenham in the North London derby. However, his popularity waned when Mikel Arteta replaced Emery.
Lucas Torreira spent two years at Arsenal (Image: Getty Images)
Torreira’s motivation for leaving was his desire to play for his country and the upcoming World Cup. He said at the time: “I needed continuity for the World Cup, so I decided to go to Turkey and Galatasaray.”
“Their project ended up convincing me in the end. And for a player like me, it’s very important to have continuity, just like last season. I got a call from Galatasaray.[Gala and Uruguay goalkeeper]Fernando Musler was very important for me when making this decision.”
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive daily Mirror Football content. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+ and Ultimate TV packages
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundles to include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, plus 135 channels and complete coverage of the Premier League and EFL from Sky.
Sky has over 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more, with at least 215 of them live from the top flight, along with F1, darts and golf.
