Doğuhan Aral Şimşir (born 19 June 2002) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

club

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...

. Born in Denmark, he was a youth international for Denmark and Turkey.

Club career

Midtjylland

Şimşir was born to Turkish parents in Denmark. His family hails from the

Sivas Province Sivas Province () is a province of Turkey. It is located in the eastern part of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Its area is 28,164 km2 (the second largest province after Konya), and its population is 634,924 (2022). Its adjacent prov ...

in the Central Anatolia Region, which is why he wears the number 58 as his shirt number, the region's registration number. Şimşir initially played in the youth teams of

HB Køge HB Køge () is a professional Danish football club based primarily in the town of Herfølge, and secondly in the town of Køge, both in the Køge Municipality, part of 'Region of Zealand', in the eastern part of Zealand, south of Copenhagen. It ...

before moving to

at U15-level. On 1 June 2020, aged 17, he made his

debut when he came on as a 64th-minute substitute for Anders Dreyer in the 1–0 loss to

AC Horsens Alliance Club Horsens (), commonly referred to as AC Horsens () or simply Horsens, is a Danish professional football club based in Horsens, Central Denmark Region. Founded in 1994, as a superstructure on Horsens fS (founded 1915), Stensballe ...

. Midtjylland advanced to the championship round, where Şimşir played two more matches for the first team, contributing to the club's title victory. On 22 September 2021, Şimşir scored his first professional goal in a 5–0 win over

Kjellerup IF Kjellerup Idrætsforening is a Danish football club based in Kjellerup, Central Jutland. It was founded in 1907, and its first team competed in the Denmark Series, the fifth tier of the Danish football league system. The club is a part of the D ...

in the

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

Loan to Jerv

On 7 March 2022, Şimşir joined Norwegian club Jerv on loan for the 2022 season. He scored his first goal for the club on 18 April, becoming the matchwinner in a 1–0 victory against

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county. The admin ...

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

Return to Midtjylland

On 9 June 2023, Şimşir scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win over

Viborg FF Viborg Fodsports Forening (), also known as Viborg FF or VFF for short, is a Danish professional association football, football club based in the Central Denmark Region, Central Jutland city of Viborg, Denmark, Viborg. They compete in the Danish ...

in the

2022–23 Danish Superliga The 2022–23 Danish Superliga (officially the 3F Superliga for sponsorship purposes) was the 33rd season of the Danish Superliga. Copenhagen were the defending champions. The season began on 15 July 2022 and ended on 9 June 2023. Teams Vejle an ...

European play-off match, securing a berth in the

2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League The 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League was the third season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA. The 2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final, final was ...

. On 29 June 2023, Şimşir signed a new long-term contract with Midtjylland, keeping him at the club until 2028. During a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

match against Israeli side

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

in October 2024, Şimşir was alleged to have yelled “I hope you die”, “Free

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

” and “I hope

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

will burn down” to the Maccabi players, causing a brawl between the two teams at the end of the match.

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

have launched an investigation into Simşir's conduct, while Midtjylland have issued a statement saying it could not accept Maccabi's interpretation of the events.

International career

Born in Denmark, Şimşir is of Turkish descent. He formerly represented Denmark internationally, before switching to Turkey with the Turkey under-21s in 2022.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

Aral Simsir
at

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

Aral Simsir
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Şimşir, Aral 2002 births Living people People from Køge Sportspeople from Køge Municipality Turkish men's footballers Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Danish men's footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Danish people of Turkish descent Men's association football forwards Danish Superliga players Eliteserien players HB Køge players FC Midtjylland players FK Jerv players Lillestrøm SK players Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Danish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Turkish expatriate men's footballers Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Footballers from Region Zealand 21st-century Danish sportsmen 21st-century Turkish sportsmen