Acun Ilıcalı on Transfer Strategy: “We’re Bringing the Best for Fenerbahçe”

Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı made statements on Beyaz TV about the incidents that took place during the Göztepe match and other current topics.

Acun Ilıcalı’s statements are as follows:

“I wish I could have come with a better topic”

Acun Ilıcalı began the program with the following words: “I wish I could have come with a better topic on a better day, but the circumstances required this, so I am here.”

“Hostile attitudes started to emerge”

Regarding the incidents during the Göztepe match, Acun Ilıcalı said, “Football is a passion for many people. There’s no need to discuss the importance of football for fans. I became an executive of the team I love, I became the vice president. My top priority is Fenerbahçe. I want a season where there is a fair competition. Mistakes can happen, what matters is correcting them. We went to a beautiful city for an away match. We wanted to play our game happily and return. We can see in the footage that before the match, inexplicable hostile attitudes started to emerge. I don’t remember any issues between Göztepe and Fenerbahçe.” he said.

“They kept shouting ‘Scoundrel’ from the side.”

Ilıcalı stated that they were being shouted at as “scoundrels” and said, “From the start of the match, there were hostile attitudes; I swear it felt like I was in another country due to the energy. I appreciate the Göztepe fans. The incidents I describe do not represent the whole community. There was negative energy around where we were sitting. It turned into insults. The referee makes a decision, and they insult us. They kept shouting ‘scoundrel’ from the side.” he said.

“Our injured fans”

Describing what happened in the stands, Acun Ilıcalı said, “We kept getting insulted. The referee makes a decision, and we get insulted. We scored a goal; I’ve never been the type of person who celebrates in a way that provokes others, but I looked at the executives, and we didn’t move. I looked at the president, and he didn’t move either. During halftime, our fans were shouting ‘Management, wake up, stand by the fans.’ We have injured fans.

The person we’re talking about is the president of Fenerbahçe, and you know how he stands by the fans. There is violence against our own fans, some with tickets who are outside. The president might have violated the rules, but at that moment, he might not have cared about the rule violation. We were already winning 2-0 and had no reason to create tension. What our president did there was an act befitting the president of Fenerbahçe. Suddenly, things started raining down. We need to talk about where the country is heading first.” he said.

“Neither the fans nor Fenerbahçe will accept this”

Stating that hooligans in the stands should be ostracized, Ilıcalı said, “Göztepe is a club I love very much. When it comes to hooligans who have lost control, if we are going to be the ones who are blamed despite them losing control, neither the fans nor Fenerbahçe will accept this. If there are hooligans, you need to ostracize them, not support them.” he said.

“Is there any provocation? No.”

Emphasizing that the security of Fenerbahçe fans was not ensured, Acun Ilıcalı said, “If you want, look at the footage. Our president is not engaging with the stands. Foreign objects are being thrown at him, and he still doesn’t look. Is there any provocation? No. Our fans’ safety was not ensured, they were victimized, and our president came. If anyone is trying to twist this, I’m here. There was no other incident anyway.” he said.

“Pepper spray was used, just so you know”

When asked what he would have said if Ali Koç had been attacked, Ilıcalı responded, “There might have been a rule violation, but isn’t the intent clear? Why did the topic go from here to there? Our criticism here is that if our president didn’t think about his own safety, pepper spray was used there by the way, just so you know. The president doesn’t know the stadium, so I ask you, what if he had gone outside and been attacked? What would you have said then? Where was our president supposed to go? Tell me.” he said.

“Should he have gone outside?”

Responding to Ahmet Çakar, who suggested that Ali Koç should have gone outside, Acun Ilıcalı said, “Really, should he have gone outside? They’ve burned Fenerbahçe jerseys outside, and you’re saying nothing would happen outside!”

“Ali Koç could go outside, and a drug addict could stab our president. Then you’d say, ‘The police had secured the place, so why did you go outside?’ Stop with this nonsense and come to the point.”

“If the president says ‘come,’ I will go”

When asked if he would go to the stands with Ali Koç, Acun Ilıcalı responded, “I will do whatever is necessary for Fenerbahçe today. If the president says ‘come,’ I will go. If something happens to our fans, I will go anyway. There is a president of the club, and if the president says ‘Acun, come too,’ I would go. Would I go outside? I wouldn’t even step outside the stadium.” he replied.

“A law should be passed urgently. A lifetime ban should be imposed”

Emphasizing that a law should be passed regarding hooliganism, Acun Ilıcalı called out to state officials: “Thank God the president didn’t go outside. What we need to talk about here is that a law regarding hooliganism should be passed urgently. I’m calling on our state officials; a lifetime ban should be imposed. I’m calling on the Göztepe fans too; 10-20 people don’t represent Göztepe. If you’re asking us, there’s a plot against us here. We were subjected to verbal and physical assault.”

“Hooligans insulted me too”

Continuing his statements about the ban, Ilıcalı said, “Nothing happened to me, nothing at all. Hooligans insulted me too. I took 500 photos in that stadium before leaving, don’t get me wrong. There is something called a lifetime ban. It’s in England. You identify them one by one and ban them. You don’t make them heroes of the attack like we do. The guy lives a normal life. Rasim, think about it, why is the man under house arrest? If you try to target us in your statements and try to involve the police, the hooligans will come after you too.” he said.

“Our police didn’t want to upset certain people in certain places”

Drawing attention to the attitude of the police towards the incidents, Acun Ilıcalı said, “I never think that our state would have such an initiative. These are all local actions, pay attention. Could there be mistakes made by the police? Yes, right? If you ask me, there were blatant mistakes made by the police. Normally, a journalist would go home, publish a photo, and get arrested. I was always there during the police incidents. The only thing I saw was that our police didn’t want to upset certain people in certain places.” he said.

“I might be attacked tomorrow or the next day”

“We are targeted because of our greatness,” said Ilıcalı, adding, “The President of the United States was shot at. He wasn’t humiliated. Our president might be attacked, but he wasn’t humiliated. Tomorrow or the next day, I might be attacked too. Do you know why we are targeted even though we are not the leaders? Because of our greatness. People resent those who are better than themselves.” he said.

“I remember Galatasaray celebrating in Kadıköy”

Expressing that Galatasaray had previously celebrated in Kadıköy, Ilıcalı said, “Let me underline this first; tell me what Fenerbahçe’s first reaction was in any incident. Did it happen during the Trabzonspor match? In the Galatasaray match, a team has the right to celebrate in the stadium. A team wins the match and celebrates. There is no provocation in the stands. So what is our crime here? I remember Galatasaray celebrating with their fans in Kadıköy many times.” he said.

“When it comes to Fenerbahçe…”

Speaking about how things are viewed differently when it comes to Fenerbahçe, Acun Ilıcalı said, “I noticed this with Ahmet Hocam; he mentioned that Ali Koç provoked the situation during the Göztepe match. For some reason, when there is an attack on Fenerbahçe, people say, ‘It was wrong for him to walk there.’ Then, in the Galatasaray match, a staff member attacked the team. Ali Koç didn’t hit anyone there either. When it’s about Fenerbahçe, they say, ‘Mert Hakan shouldn’t have put his hand there, Ali Koç shouldn’t have walked.’ The guy attacked the Fenerbahçe flag, and somehow, we are directly blamed as the attackers—what a nice world,” he said.

Ali Koç’s “We’ll come to Riva and slap you” remarks

When asked about Ali Koç’s “We’ll come to Riva and slap you” remarks, Acun Ilıcalı responded: “Instead of giving examples from my past on this subject, couldn’t we just have a nice conversation? People can misspeak. You already do this among yourselves. This is a human reaction, like a rebellion where I might lose control. I didn’t think this would be talked about so much.”

“I don’t agree with Galatasaray’s statement”

Evaluating Galatasaray’s post about the incident Ali Koç experienced during the Göztepe match, Acun Ilıcalı said, “I don’t agree with Galatasaray’s statement. They made a similar statement in another incident we experienced before. Whenever something happens to Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray has this habit of making a statement. Don’t instigate hostility. Neither we nor Galatasaray should do this. I’ve said before that I want you to talk about football as a normal game played on the field and discuss what happens on the pitch. I will continue to work towards this. We are against hooliganism, and we are taking precautions against it. Hopefully, Turkish football will distance itself from this tension.”

“We don’t want the federation to protect us”

After TFF (Turkish Football Federation) stated that it was wrong for Ali Koç to enter the stadium, Acun Ilıcalı said, “The mistake the TFF mentioned was a technical error. The federation can make a statement, of course. We don’t want the federation to protect us; we’re not asking them to be Fenerbahçe supporters. It’s normal for the federation to say this. The police can’t tell you to run a red light. The federation is right. We have no problem with the federation.”

“We will face attacks on our way to the championship”

Stating that they trust the federation and that their only focus is the championship, Acun Ilıcalı said, “Our sole focus this year is to become champions. We believe that once again, an operation is being conducted against us to make us look guilty. If you pay attention, many things are changing in Turkey and football this year. We trust the federation. We will face attacks, insults, and we will do everything we can on our way to the championship.”

“We are ensuring that Ferdi doesn’t leave”

Acun Ilıcalı spoke about Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Fenerbahçe’s transfers: “In a football player, quality is important, not quantity. We are ensuring that Ferdi doesn’t leave. We want to keep Ferdi. His manager might be upset. We said we would bring stars, and we brought En-Nesyri. Saint-Maximin was earning 12 million euros in Arabia. It took 1.5 months to get him. You didn’t expect us to bring Mbappe, did you? We want to bring players like Alex and Anelka. We met with En-Nesyri every day; it took 1.5 months. He received 8 offers. In Arabia, he received offers three times higher than what we offered. This team already broke a points record. Our biggest star is Jose Mourinho.”

“We will sign a midfielder.”

“Mourinho brought spirit to the team”

Ilıcalı had this to say about Jose Mourinho: “I don’t think our fans feel that way. This is one of the classic scenarios we see from Fenerbahçe. The man is one of the best coaches in the world. This man started the season with half of the team on international duty. The rest were training with their clubs. Do we agree that Fenerbahçe deserved to win the Lille match? We played like lions. Mourinho brought spirit to the team.”

“Fenerbahçe’s squad value is 250 million euros”

Talking about the squad they formed at Fenerbahçe, Acun Ilıcalı said, “We brought in a coach who has proven himself worldwide. Our fans should know this well; we said we would make Turkey’s strongest and most expensive transfer. Fenerbahçe’s squad is valued at 250 million euros. We brought in Mourinho as the head. We’re not asking for praise; we’re going to do this anyway.”

“We want the best in transfers”

Talking about the transfer work, Ilıcalı said, “Do we have a deficiency in the midfield? Yes, because Fred got injured. Don’t worry, our fans are our priority. We are reinforcing Fenerbahçe’s midfield. So why is there a delay? Because we want the best! Why did we get En-Nesyri? We got the number one striker our coach wanted. Our coach told us, ‘Let’s see the midfield first and then decide.’ Should we get a number 6? Should we get a number 8? We are considering everything. If Ferdi leaves, we have a plan A, B for everything. We are fulfilling every promise we made on June 10 down to the last detail. If we were 6 points ahead now, would you say we are champions? We need to look to the future, not just the present. Ali Koç built this team. Ali Koç is the one who set this vision and built the team. I condemn those trying to defame Ali Koç.”

“I’m coming with a new project. Fenerbahçe’s greatness will be felt”

Talking about a new project for Fenerbahçe, Ilıcalı said, “When there were mistakes that I did not approve of in Fenerbahçe in the past, I did not harm my team. If we are fans, we will do this. I am also coming soon with a project. With that project, everyone will feel the greatness of Fenerbahçe. We will also make the necessary move in the midfield. We are after something important that will make us all happy. Our coach said, ‘You got everyone I wanted as the management. I have no other request from you for the midfield.'”

“I talked to a friend who declared war on Fenerbahçe”

“I didn’t make any comments about Galatasaray. I’m sending this message about Fenerbahçe; there are those who feed off Fenerbahçe’s misfortune. Some of them are even Fenerbahçe fans. I talked to a friend who declared war on Fenerbahçe and told him, ‘You’re on the wrong path.’ I said, ‘I went from zero to the top in the media business. I didn’t harm or upset anyone. Those who continue down this path won’t last.’ I’m saying this to those who, while being Fenerbahçe fans, try to incite the supporters over the team’s losses. The Fenerbahçe fans will embrace their coach. You’ll see. Thank God I know the atmosphere in our stands. The fans have become one heart, one fist. Fenerbahçe fans won’t fall into this trap; they won’t fall for this game. In the elections, Fenerbahçe fans chose us.”

“Why are we talking about failure now?”

“Let me explain this way; if there is failure in football, the entire community will share it. So why are we talking about failure now? I always think positively. I want to do our best and become champions with the support of our fans.”

“I bought Hull City despite those who said ‘Acun doesn’t understand'”

Talking about the reason for purchasing Hull City, Ilıcalı said, “The reason is this; our president is running the management. He never had a discussion with me about this before. I had no desire to be a manager. Our president said, ‘We need to campaign,’ and I gave the club two days on the channel. I did whatever was asked of me during Aziz Yıldırım’s era. I was offered a managerial position, and I accepted it. I had to stand up against the injustice the team faced. I am inside the team I love, thank God. I bought Hull City despite those who said ‘Acun doesn’t understand.’ I wanted to show my success in the media in football as well. We watched Philogene, I couldn’t believe my eyes. We bought the kid the next day. I bought him for 4 million and sold him to the same club for 20 million. Some people think I’m a coach. I’m not a coach. I’m talking about the world of management.”