Press Conference: Ali Koç Slams Galatasaray and Turkish Football Federation!

Fenerbahçe Club President Ali Koç held a press conference at the Faruk Ilgaz Facilities regarding the agenda of the yellow-navy club.

Ali Koç’s statements are as follows:

“GALATASARAY IS A SURVIVAL PROBLEM FOR TURKISH FOOTBALL”

“In recent times, the agenda is dynamic, filled with claims and accusations. Actually, the subject of this meeting will be our rival. The level to which our rival’s president and executives have fallen now resembles a slaughterhouse. I will explain what kind of survival problem Galatasaray poses for Turkish football. I will show with statistics what kind of imaginary scenarios Galatasaray’s president and executives produce to achieve what they want. I will share that the understanding of ‘everything is fair to win’ has become a culture for this club.”

“THEY MOCK AND INSULT OTHER CLUBS”

“By making various kinds of blackmail and character assassination, especially by keeping referees and committees under pressure, they create imaginary enemies for this purpose. They profit from the unhappiness of other clubs, belittle and mock them, as seen in the last Beşiktaş match.”

“THEY STIR UP TROUBLE TO COVER UP MISTAKES IN THEIR OWN MATCHES”

“When things don’t go well or to cover up referee mistakes in their own matches, they stir up trouble. They threaten not to let the league finish, claim they will reveal, and finally stay silent when they get what they want. When things go well, they say, ‘Let’s be moderate.'”

“CHANNELS WERE CLOSED BEFORE THE PROGRAM COULD BE MADE”

“They claim to seek justice for all clubs. They say they will broadcast a program called ‘Justice for Football’ on their channels, which is a lie. We sent numerous positions, but the program was not aired. Meanwhile, without making the program, club channels were also closed. Reflexes of saving the day with insincere, unrealistic statements. They only see themselves as intelligent, considering everyone else naive.”

“WHICH ONE IS REAL?”

“What does TFF and its committees mean for Galatasaray? Does this situation change according to the course of the league? Is there a staged fight among them? They shielded TFF, saying, ‘Turkish football needs willpower and meritocratic management.’ Shortly after, they invited TFF to resign. Two days ago, they called on TFF to be accountable. Which one is real?”

“THEY CAUSED A RIOT FIRST, THEN DID THE SAME”

“We shared a post at halftime to assert our club’s rights in a match. They caused a riot. Then, ten days later, they did the exact same thing in their own matches. Before making the post, didn’t someone among you say, ‘Fenerbahçe did the same thing; if we do it, it would be hypocrisy’?”

“PRESSURE TACTICS”

“They have a tactic. Putting pressure on individuals and bringing it to the public’s attention. They say things like, ‘He works for Koç companies,’ ‘He works for companies close to Fenerbahçe.’ They are accustomed to achieving what they want by applying pressure, attacking, and cornering. That’s what I call the survival problem for Turkish football.”

“IF YOU’RE BRAVE, SUPPORT OUR FOREIGN REFEREE REQUEST LIKE US”

“If you are not satisfied with the President of the TFF. After every match, you talk about the referee. If you are brave, honest, and confident, support our foreign referee request like us. Here’s a sincerity test for you.”

“YOU’RE SOWING THE SEEDS OF HATRED AMONG MILLIONS”

“You trust Turkish referees, just not in our matches. You are hypocrites. Because you sow the seeds of hatred among millions, you are not just a survival problem for Turkish football but perhaps for the country.”

“REFEREE QUESTION FOR OKAN BURUK”

“We should ask this coach (referring to Okan Buruk), who is his closest referee friend? Those who know, know… But of course, they don’t want foreign referees either because they see how foreign referees manage in Europe.”

“HERE’S THE REAL COALITION FOR YOU”

“Before their matches, they release transfer rumors about the players of the opposing teams. Or they make offers to transfer players from the teams they will play against. They made an offer to Kayserispor for Mame Thiam from Pendikspor. They made an offer to Sivasspor for Sainz from Eyüpspor. Everyone knows about the close relationships of these three Istanbul clubs. Here’s the real coalition for you.”

“MORUTAN TRANSFER”

“They sold Morutan for 3 million euros. We understood that it’s not like that. We learned that if the player sold for 3 million euros plays a certain number of matches, then that money is paid. They don’t even play him in the starting 11. I wonder if the 3 million euros were used to bypass the financial fair play regulations. We will find out.”

“BAKAMBU TRANSFER”

“There is also the Bakambu transfer. They provided incorrect information about Cedric Bakambu’s transfer to Real Betis. We found out that Real Betis will pay 5+5 million euros. Amazing! The president of Betis says that the amount we paid includes the transfer fee. He says there must be extraordinary conditions for the bonuses to be realized. The 5 million includes the salary as well. The point here is to blatantly lie and deceive people.”

“EXPERT REPORT ON ERDEN TİMUR’S ZANIOLO STATEMENTS”

“One of their executives exposed our offer for the Zaniolo transfer. This is actually a crime. He says, ‘Fenerbahçe offered more to the player, but the player chose us.’ We took this to court. An expert report came. The report states that the total amount to be paid by this club, including bonuses, is higher than Fenerbahçe’s offer, indicating that Erden Timur’s statements are not true, and unfair competition has occurred. They are very powerful in the judiciary. They called Selahattin Baki and Onur Göçmez for questioning. The aim is to create discomfort.”

“CULTURAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO CLUBS”

“Belhanda takes a threesome before the match. Those who left Fenerbahçe fight against us with all their might. This is the truth and how it should be. In fact, this is the cultural difference between the two clubs.”

“THEY THREATEN AND COMPLAIN ABOUT PRESS MEMBERS”

“They ensure that the desired questions are asked during press conferences. When an unwanted question comes up, the person asking the question is either complained about to their institution, or the communication directors send midnight messages and threaten them. Recently, two media members experienced this.”

“NETFLIX SERIES FOR TWO SEASONS”

“The reason they don’t want foreign referees is obvious. To see what Turkish football has become, just look at the Galatasaray – Antalyaspor match; it will be enough. What happens afterward is a perfect example of an immoral sports culture. We could provide so many examples that it could turn into a Netflix series for two seasons.”

“REGISTERED GALATASARAY FAN REFEREES…”

“The main purpose of such behavior is the appointment of registered Galatasaray fan referees by the TFF in critical matches. TFF always assigns the referees they want to these critical matches. Carlos Vinicius… I’ve never seen anything like it. Eye to eye, ear to ear. Almost lip to lip. No card, nothing. He gets sent off just because Fred said ‘Stupid.'”

“AHMED ÇAKAR REMINDER”

“They were protected in the past as well. In the 97-98 season, Galatasaray fan Ahmed Çakar was assigned to the Beşiktaş-Galatasaray match. He awarded a penalty, but there was no connection. He says he prayed, ‘I hope the player misses the penalty when taking it.'”

“YELLOW CARD STATISTICS”

“In the last 4 matches, we committed 59 fouls and received 15 yellow cards. Galatasaray committed 62 fouls in the last 4 matches and received 4 yellow cards.”

“YOU CAN’T EXPLAIN THIS DOUBLE STANDARD TO ANYONE”

“While referees are looking for the smallest mistakes of a team in the championship race, they ignore the blatant errors of the other team. You can’t explain this double standard to anyone.”

“ICARDI’S DISCIPLINARY REFERRAL”

“Even Icardi’s disciplinary referral without a precaution is an example of favoritism. In other words, the committee is saying, ‘Give the minimum punishment.’ It is evident that TFF comes to the rescue of this club in times of need. Matches in the 1st League were postponed, and in the Super League, the matches of that week were postponed. This situation provides an advantage for some and a disadvantage for others. Suspended players, travel times, etc. This could be a coincidence; I couldn’t get a satisfactory answer when I asked.”

“TFF PRESIDENT POINTED US OUT IN THE SUPER CUP CRISIS”

“TFF President pointed us out in Ankara regarding the Super Cup crisis in Riyadh, to state officials. He mentioned that the crisis started with the tweet of Fenerbahçe General Assembly President Uğur Dündar at 4:00 PM. I asked TFF President, ‘Who asked? Minister level, other level?’ His response was, ‘I don’t know about that tweet.’ That tweet triggered the entire crisis. Nevzat Dindar stated that he reached Eray Yazgan before Uğur Bey’s tweet and said, ‘We won’t step on the field if the National Anthem is not allowed.’ This situation reveals that they are being protected. They are managing Turkish football by trying to blame Fenerbahçe for the scandal they caused. You can think about the rest. As Fenerbahçe, we want our state to investigate this matter.”

“ABDULKADIR BİTİGEN ADMITTED TO GIVING A WRONG PENALTY IN THE GALATASARAY MATCH”

“Abdulkadir Bitigen admits giving the penalty in the Galatasaray match during a referee seminar. Allegedly, on March 1, a meeting was held with referees, including Hugh Dallas and Mehmet Büyükekşi. He shared the information that Tolga Özkalfa was dismissed from duty and left the meeting. Hugh Dallas asked Abdülkadir Bitigen about the penalty. Bitigen confesses in front of all referees that the penalty decision was wrong. Not a momentary mistake. He went to VAR, ruled for a penalty there, and then admitted it was wrong. What will be the impact of this on the championship race?”

“ORGANIZED EVIL”

“We are facing fearless, shameless organized evil. We are talking about such DNA. Our proposal to come to the arena is still valid. You say things elsewhere that we can’t say in front of us.”

“WHICH CLUB THE TERRORIST LEADER SAID WE SHOULD SUPPORT WITH PRAYER AND FAVOURISM”

“I ask those who do not see July 3rd as a conspiracy, what do you think about December 17-25, the treacherous coup attempt on July 15, and many FETÖ conspiracies? According to your understanding, are these also legitimate? Galatasaray is the club that FETÖ loves the most, establishes a bond with, and embraces. Which club did the terrorist leader say we should support with prayer and favourism? It’s not us. Come on, say ‘it’s not us’ too. Fenerbahçe comes last among the institutions that can be targeted with mud regarding FETÖ in this country. Among those who can throw mud at Fenerbahçe on this issue, you come first, Galatasaray fans.”

“DURSUN ÖZBEK ASKED FOR AN APPOINTMENT FROM ME”

A few months ago, I had a visitor. At that time, Dursun Özbek called my visitor. The caller said he urgently wanted to meet and invited our mutual friend to his hotel in Gayrettepe. According to our mutual friend, ‘The atmosphere is very tense, people are very tense. Therefore, some inappropriate individuals emerge. The President of the TFF is trying to divide us and watches. He is a very interesting man. In fact, the other day, he gave appointments to Ali Bey and me at the same time, creating a tense atmosphere. At that moment, the President of the TFF withdrew from where he was sitting and watched us with pleasure (Ali Koç: That’s true, it happened like that). At that moment, everything fell into place for me. I want to sit down and talk with Ali Bey. We already have no problem with each other. Let’s fight against them. Talk to Ali Bey; it will be good for all of us. Please convey this to Ali Bey.’ I accepted, but when they made a very harsh statement about me on their official accounts one day before the meeting, I canceled the appointment.”

“DURSUN ÖZBEK, HOPEFULLY IT’S FALSE”

“Dursun Özbek can deny these. Then our mutual friend, who knows the truth, will tell. Hopefully, it’s false. Phone calls, hours, going to the office, everything is recorded. It’s not my style to explain this, but on the one hand, let’s meet, and on the other hand, very harsh statements. Making low statements about a deceased family member. I wanted you to get to know this person.”

“THE WORDS ARE NOT HIS WORDS”

“See who the man is who can belittle himself enough to insult my family. In fact, the words are not his words. These are words we are used to hearing from a certain place. They draw power from somewhere. These people protect enmity towards the state, treason, and opposition to the government for their own interests.”

“WE MUST FIGHT WITH THIS COMMUNITY LIKE WE DID ON JULY 3RD”

“We are trying to fight honestly against an immoral structure that has gained all kinds of power. I tried to explain the picture of systematic evil we are facing. We must stand tall against this mentality. Just as we fought against a certain structure on July 3rd, we must be in a similar struggle with this community.”

“WE ARE ALMOST IN THE SAME PLACE WITH ERTUĞRUL DOĞAN”

“They are trying to bring Trabzonspor and us face to face. Selahattin Bey’s statements are not related to Trabzonspor. It has come to the point where we say, ‘We have taken too much’ in our last conversation with them. We are almost in the same place with Trabzonspor and many other clubs. In meetings with Ertuğrul Doğan, we are almost in the same place. I don’t think there will be a problem at the end of the match. If someone didn’t come there to create a problem.”

“THERE WILL BE OPERATIONS AGAINST THEM TOO”

“The TFF is not in control of the situation. Again, this network makes them do what they want for their own interests. The resignation of the TFF does not solve the problem. A revolution is needed. Our state is doing tremendous operations. You will see one day; there will be operations against them too. This will happen sooner or later.”

“THEY WON’T MAKE FENERBAHÇE CHAMPION WHILE I’M HERE”

“I always have a concern, not just this week. That’s why I say ‘They won’t make Fenerbahçe champion while I’m here.’ I think both teams in Trabzon will compete fiercely, and the deserving one will win.”

“NEW APPLICATION FOR THE SUPER CUP”

“The schedule was very tight. When we set April 7th, we did not consider the other dates. Passing this round is very important for us to guarantee 9th place in the country ranking. From the perspective of national interests, it will be more accurate to find a new date for the Super Cup final if our opponent agrees.”