Ali Koç Spoke Clearly About Withdrawing From The League: “If necessary, we will drop”

Regarding the possibility of withdrawing from the league, Ali Koç said, “If necessary, we will drop to a lower league. Everyone should come to their senses. Rather than dying every day, we will die one day. If necessary, we will play for a year and then come back up. If the match had ended 2-2, the championship would have been gone.”

Fenerbahçe defeated Trabzonspor 3-2 in the Turkish Super Lig. After the match, Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç spoke for the first time following the events that occurred when fans stormed the pitch.

Ali Koç made statements on the club channel FB TV.

Here are the highlights of Ali Koç’s statements:

“I won’t prolong it, I just want to provide some information. It’s a shame for Turkish football. There have been people for the past 13-14 years inciting these two clubs against each other, sowing seeds of violence and hatred between the two clubs. The tension rose after the 1996 championship, but never has such seeds of hatred been sown. This terrorist organization has managed to bring these two clubs to the level it desires. The level-headed individuals of these communities need to eliminate these problems with a long-term, patient, and rational approach. Trabzonspor is one of the most important values of Turkish football.”

ALI KOÇ’S CLAIM: “WE’RE HEARING SOME THINGS FROM TRABZON”

“Yesterday, they perhaps treated us better than we treated them. There’s no problem between the two presidents. As Fenerbahçe, we want to wish both ourselves and the Trabzonspor community well. I’m saddened to hear that there are certain activities on the Trabzon side. We’re hearing rumors that they’ll attribute these tensions to Fenerbahçe. Hopefully, they won’t do that; no president or board of directors would want what happened yesterday.

I want to thank the private security officers wearing orange vests in Trabzon. The biggest victim of these events is Fenerbahçe and its fans. We sat down with the Board of Directors and talked. This situation has gotten out of hand. You know what happened on July 3rd. Neither our state nor those who govern football took any action regarding Fenerbahçe. The attack is still unsolved; what if something had happened to someone? What if a footballer had been lynched? We wanted this to be the end. We keep saying let it be the end. We’ve started to legitimize violence. Come to your senses. Don’t look at what happened yesterday from a football perspective. I don’t know if an organization is being done through football, but what happened yesterday was organized.

The match started and the incidents escalated step by step. The referee was late in his actions, and the stands were emboldened. When the goals came, the stands were even more emboldened. Someone with little knowledge would have seen where the incidents were heading. The match we lost in Denizli, the Galatasaray match called the water fight should have been canceled. Yesterday’s match should have been canceled too. Regardless of which referee it was, they couldn’t cancel the match due to the football environment in the country. You know the power of our opponent. You know the political and bureaucratic power. Torches were coming onto the field. The referee saw the torch and let the game continue, and it became 2-2. What if we had lost 3-2 or if it had ended 2-2? Would you have taken another championship by force?

In any derby match, all the police come to our matches, fill the sidelines. There were no police in the stadium yesterday. How thoroughly were people searched? Last Ramadan, they came here. They didn’t take people’s plastic bottles. Maybe the police were right. Get well soon to Trabzon too. I handed my son over to President Ertuğrul yesterday. They treated us very nicely.”

“I RESIGNED FROM THE PRESIDENCY OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CLUBS”

“Thanks to our President for intervening yesterday, and we also thank our ministers, but an environment where their intervention is not needed should have been provided. What happened yesterday was not something that would happen in any Trabzonspor-Fenerbahçe match. Therefore, we will meet on April 2nd. I just resigned from the Presidency of the Association of Clubs a while ago. We won’t accept this treatment.”

“IF NECESSARY, WE WILL DROP TO A LOWER LEAGUE”

“If necessary, we will drop to a lower league. Everyone should come to their senses. Rather than dying every day, we will die one day. If necessary, we will play for a year and then come back up. If the match had ended 2-2, the championship would have been gone. Who organized this? Trabzonspor Board did not organize it, but someone did. Why were there no police, why were no security measures taken? There is no place for Fenerbahçe in this league. We are trying to compete honestly.”

“I WILL CONTINUE PRESIDENCY IF WE DROP TO A LOWER LEAGUE”

“Now they have started; they say Fenerbahçe players should be given this punishment, that punishment. Go ahead, give whatever punishment you want. We are going through a very crucial period in Fenerbahçe’s history. I am pleading with the congress members, come and stand by your club. The desired outcome is for Fenerbahçe not to win, even not to be on the fields. We will decide where this will go with our congress members at the general assembly. If we decide to withdraw from the league, I will continue presidency. We will bring the club back to the top league and then I will leave.”