Raul Meireles 'handed 11-match ban' for spitting at referee Meireles, who joined Fenerbahce in the summer after leaving Stamford Bridge confronted referee Halis Ozkahya after being handed a second yellow card during his side's 2-1 defeat to arch-rivals Galatasaray. It is alleged that Meireles spat at the official and also made a homophobic comment. The Portuguese, who has been a regular for Fenerbahce, initially denied the allegation. After the match he said: 'I'm really annoyed at being accused of spitting at the referee. I have an eight year-old kid, can you imagine if kids at school start saying your father spat at a ref, this could ruin my reputation in the eyes of my child. I have many gay friends who I deeply respects. The hand gesture I made is directed at the referee caving in to the pressure of the home fans. That hand gesture was to tell him he was scared. Look at my hairstyle, what I wear, I'm not a prejudice person, my hand gesture was in no way, shape or form a homophobic one. I don't know what the hand gesture for calling somebody gay is in Turkey but what I did was entirely based around the referee being a coward and bowing to the pressure. The referee's accusations are outrageous and are defamation, I will be taking legal action against him to prove my innocence. It was thought that the midfielder would be handed a seven-match ban, but according to reports, he has been handed a lengthier ban and will miss 11 games.