Letter from Fenerbahçe to the Turkish Football Federation!

Due to the inconsistent decisions of referees in the Trendyol Super Lig, Fenerbahçe wrote a letter containing 7 questions to the Turkish Football Federation.

The yellow-navy blues questioned the reason behind the rule not applied in Galatasaray matches but implemented in their own matches.

7 QUESTIONS TO TFF FROM FENERBAHÇE

In this letter sent by Fenerbahçe, the following questions were addressed to Mehmet Büyükekşi, the President of the Turkish Football Federation, and all responsible parties:

1. On what basis was Bahattin Şimşek appointed to the Galatasaray match a few days after his controversial decision in the Fenerbahçe-Samsunspor match?
2. Why was the foul decision ignored and not implemented in the Galatasaray-Istanbulspor match but applied in the Fenerbahçe match?
3. Are the rules applied differently in football based on team colors?
4. Is it sufficient to give a 5-minute extension when a goal, canceled in the 67th minute only for Mauro Icardi’s offside, was scrutinized for 4.30″?
5. If the score was 1-1 instead of 2-1 in favor of Galatasaray at that moment, would referee Bahattin Şimşek still add 5 minutes to the match?
6. What has been the opinion, interpretation, and evaluation of the Turkish Football Federation and the Central Referee Board regarding the three blatant errors made in just one match that the public has questioned?
7. In the face of the injustice caused by the referees’ inconsistent decisions between the two teams, what will be your stance?

APPEAL TO TFF FOR JUSTICE

Furthermore, the letter claimed that Bahattin Şimşek influenced the results of the Fenerbahçe – Samsunspor and Galatasaray – Istanbulspor matches, and an appeal for justice was made to the Turkish Football Federation.

FENERBAHÇE’S LETTER

“To the Attention of the Turkish Football Federation Board;

The non-standard referee decisions applied between our Football Team, competing in the championship race, and our rival, have reached its peak with the Galatasaray-Istanbulspor match played on January 25, 2024.

Referee Bahattin Şimşek, who officiated our team’s match against Samsunspor, made a wrong foul decision that affected the course of the match, as agreed upon by all referee commentators and the sports public.

The referee who made this significant mistake was appointed to the match of our rival team, which is also in the championship race, just 4 days (96 hours) after giving a foul decision against our team. This time, he influenced the result of the match in favor of Galatasaray by ignoring the foul decision made against Fenerbahçe.

In the same match, the referee not only stopped at this mistake but also allowed Galatasaray Football Team to score with a wall set up at the wrong distance.

The injustice arising from different decisions given by referees between two teams competing in the championship race has disturbed our Club and community.

We ask the following questions to all responsible parties under the presidency of Mr. Mehmet Büyükekşi, the President of the Turkish Football Federation:

1. On what basis was Bahattin Şimşek appointed to the Galatasaray match a few days after his controversial decision in the Fenerbahçe-Samsunspor match?
2. Why was the foul decision ignored and not implemented in the Galatasaray-Istanbulspor match but applied in the Fenerbahçe match?
3. Are the rules applied differently in football based on team colors?

Another issue that we are curious about and eagerly await an answer to is the inconsistency in the added stoppage minutes at the end of the match.

When the goal canceled only for Mauro Icardi’s offside in the 67th minute was scrutinized for 4.30″, is it sufficient to give a 5-minute extension? If the score was 1-1 instead of 2-1 in favor of Galatasaray at that moment, would referee Bahattin Şimşek still add 5 minutes to the match? What has been the opinion, interpretation, and evaluation of the Turkish Football Federation and the Central Referee Board regarding the three blatant errors made in just one match that the public has questioned? In the face of the injustice caused by the referees’ inconsistent decisions between the two teams, what will be your stance?”