Statement from Fenerbahçe Club: “Referee Arda Kardeşler appointed to the derby as if rewarded”

Fenerbahçe Executive Can Gebetaş made statements before the Galatasaray derby. Gebetaş said, “Referee Arda Kardeşler is appointed to the derby as if rewarded.”

Before the derby, Fenerbahçe Executive Can Gebetaş made statements on Fenerbahçe’s official website.

Stating that referees have a great responsibility in the matches to be played in the Turkish Super League and TFF Super Cup, Can Gebetaş expressed that while Hüseyin Göçek was punished, Arda Kardeşler was rewarded.

Can Gebetaş’s statement:

Turkish football is going through difficult days due to recent events. While radical steps are needed for normalization, this match will bring the community and football fans together again.

In general, the favorite of the derby in Kadıköy is clear.

Since the beginning of the season, we have faced very egregious referee errors in our matches. Again, if there is no referee intervention that will affect the result of the match, we sincerely believe that we will win this match.

Our fans should come to the match early on that day. They should show the spirit of Fenerbahçe in the stands to our team in the best way possible.

Fenerbahçe Football team is composed of a player group that is aware of our goals, the expectations of our community, and the greatness of Fenerbahçe.

Yes, what happened in the last match really upset us.

The suspension of one of our most effective players, Fred, the suspension of Mert Hakan, our injuries, and our shortcomings are other factors that upset us. However, whenever it is a Fenerbahçe match, all athletes must go out on the field and compete with the consciousness of this jersey.

On Sunday, we will not say ‘there are missing,’ we will say ‘Fenerbahçe is here.’ The spirit of this derby is familiar with Fenerbahçe’s victories.

We trust our team and our coach.

Our players must be very intelligent and clever both in preparing for the match and on the field.

We saw and experienced in front of the whole of Turkey in the Kayserispor match why there are no standard card criteria for referees when it comes to Fenerbahçe, how easy it is to show a card when they see the Yellow and Navy Blue jersey.

If I give an example, in the last two seasons, 11 red cards have been shown against Fenerbahçe, and 4 red cards against Galatasaray.

Almost three times more.

Isn’t it unnatural for there to be so much difference between two teams that have been competing with each other for the championship in the last two seasons?

We are experiencing another season in our community where we have fought hard in many areas for Fenerbahçe. Times change, years change, but the reality of Fenerbahçe does not change.

This season, there is a different and significant unity in our community than in recent years. Although our fragility still continues, we are in a position of a community that is focused on its goal.

If we continue like this, and even if we increase the gear a bit more, I believe that we will reach our goal.

We hope that the match we will play on Sunday will be a derby where the field, the game, and the atmosphere will be talked about.

The referee’s performance should not be discussed in a match where non-standard decisions will definitely not be made.

The referee team must be very careful in every decision. They should never be detached from the match.

The referee who will manage our match, Arda Kardeşler, was the referee of the match we played against Karagümrük in the 13th week of the league.

Arda Kardeşler, as we all remember from that match, made clear mistakes by not giving two penalties, one for our opponent and one for our team.

While it is expected that the referee should not officiate for 4 weeks and be penalized for these mistakes, referee Arda Kardeşler took on duties as both the main referee and VAR, AVAR.

VAR referee Hüseyin Göçek was punished, but Arda Kardeşler continued to officiate. Moreover, now he is appointed to the derby as if rewarded.

However, you look at it, it’s inconsistency.

We will play twice against Galatasaray within 1 week. Therefore, this situation increases the responsibility of the referees for the match even more. The performance of the referees will be even more crucial in both matches. I have already explained the reason for this. Turkish football is going through a critical period, and one of the most important reasons for this is the decisions of the referees. These decisions directly affect the course of the game, and consequently, the championship race, the relegation struggle, and the competition for participation in European cups.

As you know, very sad and exhausting things have happened in recent weeks.

In fact, unfortunately, the troubles we have experienced have gone beyond our country and started to be talked about in the world. The eyes of the whole world will be on this derby.

Everyone should do their part in this regard. What is expected from the referees is a fair approach, the application of the rules equally and without interpretation to everyone, and giving confidence to teams and communities, not directing the results.

For example, when you look at what happened in the last minutes of our last match and see the referee’s attitude in the Galatasaray match played an hour after our match, you see the double standard without any questioning.

A referee who has broken records against Fenerbahçe specifically in terms of red cards in Zorbay Küçük is avoiding showing a second yellow card to Muslera, who applauds and protests himself in the Antalyaspor match, although he shows a yellow card for his protest against the position between Muslera and Antalyaspor player Buksa.

Zorbay Küçük, who has shown the most red cards in his career to Fenerbahçe, talks about 6 red cards and 34 yellow cards in 11 matches.

Considering all these, when you approach the events from a holistic perspective, the question immediately comes to your mind: If Fred had worn the Red and Yellow jersey, I wonder if he would have been sent off in the last-minute position like in the Kayserispor match?

Let the public answer this question because when we tell the truth, they rain down penalties on us.

Let’s not see this situation as partisanship; what has happened consecutively makes everyone, both biased and unbiased, think about it.

When we talk about injustice and victimization, we face penalties before our sentence is even finished.

No one focuses on the essence of the problem.

If the Turkish Football Federation and referees continue to approach events in this way, unfortunately, achieving tranquility in Turkish football will not be possible.

Everyone responsible must first put their hats in front of them. After a deep questioning, concrete steps need to be taken.

The understanding of ‘Give the penalty, silence those who demand their rights’ will not lead us to a solution…”