Turkish Football Federation (TFF) vice-president for legal affairs, Mehmet Baykan, who is also a member of its executive board, resigned from his post on Wednesday.

His resignation comes after the federation’s Arbitration Board overturned a Central Referee Board (MHK) decision to lay off 13 senior Turkish referees.

"MHK's proposal to exclude some referees, including our FIFA referees, from was put into practice by our TFF Executive Board. Unfortunately, however, the legal dimension of the issue in the TFF legislation was carried out without any discussion, and as a result of the objections, the decision was reversed," Baykan said in a statement.

"I have come to the conclusion that as the vice-president responsible for legal affairs and a member of the board of directors, I should assume a responsibility in this regard," he added.

The group of 13 Turkish referees, including high-profile names like Cüneyt Çakır, Fırat Aydınus and Ali Palabıyık, were stripped of their Süper Lig and TFF 1. Lig duties for the rest of the 2021-22 season earlier on March 8.