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Fenerbahce appoint Dirk Kuyt as interim coach after Ismail Kartal resigns

The former Fenerbahce player steps up from assistant coach following a derby defeat, with a league match and a Champions League meeting with Liverpool ahead.

NewsJaws DeskEditorial desk

Published 28 Oct 2026, 09:49 GMT2 min read

A view of Fenerbahçe Stadium in Istanbul. — File photograph of Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul, taken in 2010. bixentro, "Fenerbahce Stadium - 5115578805" (resized and converted to WebP). CC BY 2.0.Image source Image licence: CC BY 2.0

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Fenerbahce appointed Dirk Kuyt to lead their first team on an interim basis on Wednesday, October 28, after Ismail Kartal resigned following a 2-1 defeat by Galatasaray in Istanbul. Reuters reported that the former Fenerbahce player and current assistant coach will serve until the Turkish club appoints a new head coach, giving him charge of the side ahead of its next league and Champions League fixtures.

Kuyt's role after Kartal's resignation

Fenerbahce said it had assigned Kuyt as technical supervisor of its first team following Kartal's resignation, according to Reuters. The club tied the appointment to its search for a new head coach; it did not give a date for that appointment. Kuyt moves into the role from Kartal's staff, which he joined as an assistant in June 2026, BBC Sport reported.

Kartal's departure followed Monday's defeat by Galatasaray, Fenerbahce's Istanbul rivals. BBC Sport reported that Kartal had also stepped down in September but stayed in charge after the club did not accept that resignation. This time, the club has placed Kuyt in charge while it seeks a successor.

Fenerbahce's next matches and league position

Kuyt's first scheduled game in charge is Saturday's league match against Goztepe, BBC Sport reported. Fenerbahce are then scheduled to host Liverpool, another of Kuyt's former clubs, in a Champions League group-stage match on Wednesday, November 4, at 17:45 GMT. The timing brings his interim appointment immediately before a meeting with the English side where he spent six years as a player.

Fenerbahce were fifth in the Turkish top flight and six points behind league leaders Galatasaray when BBC Sport reported the appointment. The gap gives the coaching change an immediate league context as well as a European fixture: Kuyt inherits a side seeking to close ground on the rivals who beat it in Kartal's final match.

Kuyt's history with Fenerbahce and Liverpool

Kuyt played for Fenerbahce after leaving Liverpool in 2012 and won the Turkish league title with the Istanbul club in the 2013-14 season. At Liverpool, he won the League Cup in 2012, BBC Sport reported. His return to Fenerbahce's touchline therefore comes at a club where he has already won a domestic title, shortly before it hosts a team central to his playing career.

Before joining Kartal's staff, Kuyt held coaching posts at ADO Den Haag and FC Dordrecht in the Netherlands and Beerschot in Belgium, according to Reuters and BBC Sport. His appointment follows those jobs and his spell as Fenerbahce assistant, but the club has described his new responsibility as temporary while it determines who will take the head coach's job.