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Besiktas sack captain ahead of Kiev tie Besiktas have taken the stunning step of sacking captain Ibrahim Uzulmez ahead of their Europa League last-32 tie at home to Dynamo Kiev on Thursday. The move comes following an emergency meeting of the club's board as they looked into the events which unfolded during half-time of Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Ankaragucu. Uzulmez is understood to have punched team-mate Ibrahim Toraman after the duo had become embroiled in an argument, witnessed by coach Bernd Schuster. It is not the first time the two men have squared up, they also exchanged blows at a pre-season training camp in Austria in 2008. On that occasion both players were indefinitely suspended, only to later make peace and be reinstated to the squad. However, this time the board decided to dismiss experienced 36-year-old defender Uzulmez. A club statement read: "Upon learning of the unsportsmanlike conduct he displayed in the dressing room during the half-time interval of this week's match against Ankaragucu, our executive board held an emergency meeting and, in line with coaching staff recommendations, unanimously decided to terminate player Ibrahim Uzulmez's contract with immediate effect." The decision adds to Schuster's problems ahead of the game at the Inonu Stadium, as in recent weeks the German has lost first-choice goalkeeper Cenk Gonen with a broken finger and defender Ersan Gulum with a season-ending knee ligament injury. Schuster, whose side have taken just one point from their last three league games to slip to sixth and 15 points behind leaders Trabzonspor, will also be without two of his three January transfer window signings in Portugal midfielders Simao and Manuel Fernandes. A third Portugal star, striker Hugo Almeida - who scored in Werder Bremen's 2-2 Champions League draw with Spurs in September - is eligible to play following a #1.7million move. For Dynamo, the match is their first since the Ukrainian League shut down for its winter break two months ago, and the first for new head coach Yuri Semin. The former Russia boss returned to Dynamo at the end of December for a second spell in charge after guiding the club to the league title and UEFA Cup semi-finals in 2009. The 63-year-old, who left Lokomotiv Moscow to take up the post, is assisted by former defender Oleg Luzhny, who had been caretaker coach for three months following the resignation of Valeri Gazzaev. Currently second in the table, albeit 12 points behind runaway leaders Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo do not resume their league campaign again until March 5. Semin's side warmed up for their trip to Turkey with a 4-1 friendly win over Chinese side Shandong Luneng on Saturday at the end of a mid-season break to Marbella. The winners of this tie will go on to face either Manchester City or Aris Thessaloniki in the last 16, with City favourites to go through following a goalless away draw on Tuesday.