Acun Ilıcalı: “Mertens’ Dive Was the Real Issue, Not Just the VAR Mistake”

Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı Speaks on the Abandoned Galatasaray-Adana Demirspor Match

“MOURINHO’S CONTRACT IS NOT IRREGULAR”

Acun Ilıcalı responded to former referee Ahmet Çakar’s claim that “Fenerbahçe has altered contracts, including Mourinho’s,” by stating:
“There is nothing irregular about Jose Mourinho’s contract. We don’t have such a thing as dual contracts at Fenerbahçe.”

“WE DON’T WANT THESE THINGS TO HAPPEN”

In an interview with Beyaz TV, Ilıcalı addressed the abandoned Galatasaray-Adana Demirspor match:
“I wasn’t watching the match live. Our game had already ended. Later, I caught up on the incidents, watched the footage, and followed the commentary. It was a sad night. We don’t want these things to happen. We always say we seek justice, not privilege. When injustice occurs, we will react.”

“DIDN’T METIN ÖZTÜRK ATTACK US?”

When asked why he got involved in the matter, Ilıcalı replied:
“Didn’t Galatasaray accuse us? Didn’t Metin Öztürk attack us after the match? These attacks are happening regardless… Today, we blame the VAR referee—okay. We blame the main referee—okay. But why don’t we blame the player who dived, who tried to deceive the referee, who engaged in cheating within football?”

“WHY AREN’T WE BLAMING THE CHEATER?”

Referring to Dries Mertens, Ilıcalı continued:
“We are blaming the VAR referee—fine. We are blaming the main referee—fine. But why don’t we blame the player who blatantly dived? Our player Dzeko was headbutted. Instead of throwing himself to the ground, he stood like a man.”

“CRITICISM OF ARDA KARDEŞLER”

Ilıcalı criticized referee Arda Kardeşler being assigned to Galatasaray’s derbies:
“Our player was headbutted, he didn’t dive, he continued playing. Only after his face started bleeding did VAR intervene, and the opponent received a red card. Our captain Dzeko remained composed despite being headbutted. We’re explaining our perspective, but you keep defending VAR referees, saying they won’t be allowed to officiate again. Last season, in the most crucial match of the league—Galatasaray vs. Fenerbahçe—Torreira dived, and our player received a second yellow card and was sent off. Isn’t this the same kind of action? The referee responsible for that mistake (Editor’s Note: Arda Kardeşler) was assigned to Galatasaray’s first home derby this season. You talk about referees being sent to space or officiating in Europe, but do you know what happens in Turkey? The referee who made the biggest blunder, who disallowed Fred’s goal and prevented the match from going 4-5 goals, was assigned to Galatasaray’s first home derby.”

“THE ACCUSATION AGAINST FENERBAHÇE IS ABSURD!”

Continuing his statements, Ilıcalı emphasized:
“The uproar from the match wasn’t just about a VAR mistake. It was about the magnitude of the error. The biggest issue, and I say this with regret, was that a Galatasaray player blatantly deceived the referee. After that, the VAR referee made a mistake, and we blamed the foreign referee. But what was the real cause? A player dived, and, as always in that stadium, decisions were completely one-sided. The main referee had already been threatened before, told ‘You can’t officiate here,’ and what did he do? He awarded a penalty. For any Galatasaray executive to talk about Fenerbahçe as if we’re part of some operation is beyond belief. Your player dived in your own stadium, the opposing team was furious, and the player just walked away. How are we being blamed for this by Galatasaray?”

“4-5 RED CARDS WERE NOT GIVEN”

Ilıcalı claimed that referees are under pressure in Galatasaray’s home matches:
“As a club, we demand justice. The errors made by referees at Galatasaray’s stadium were once again evident. We have concrete evidence that young referees are being intimidated and pressured by Galatasaray players. These referees are influenced and continue to make huge mistakes that affect match outcomes. In that stadium, five red cards should have been given but weren’t. Turkish referees are under pressure. In the end, out of desperation, the referee had to award that penalty. This became part of the theater. Right now, in Galatasaray’s stadium, referees are under pressure. I’m saying four or five red cards weren’t given. Didn’t Davinson have three or four yellow-card-worthy fouls in the first half against Beşiktaş? Wasn’t Immobile taken down when he was the last man? At least four or five red cards for Galatasaray were ignored. Sanchez does this every game. In the Eyüpspor match, there was a 200% red card foul!”

“WE LOST A CHAMPIONSHIP BECAUSE OF FOREIGN VAR”

Discussing foreign VAR referees, Ilıcalı said:
“Instead of looking at the past, we should focus on how to fix things in the future. We never claimed that foreign VAR referees wouldn’t make mistakes. Galatasaray themselves first requested it, and we supported it. Football is a game of errors. Maybe we lost a championship because of foreign VAR, but we are not searching for malicious intent. All clubs supported foreign VAR, and it’s easy to discredit it over a single mistake. There was a disaster in midfield—a referee under pressure made a massive error. After that, the opposition lost control. But the real culprit was the player who dived and disregarded football’s ethical values.”

“FOREIGN REFEREES WOULD REDUCE THE PROBLEM”

When asked, “Can’t foreign referees be bribed?”, Ilıcalı replied:
“Then let’s abolish refereeing altogether. I don’t understand where you’re trying to take this. Referees are necessary. The idea that foreign referees would engage in match-fixing shouldn’t even be on our agenda. Do you trust local referees more? The solution is clear; there’s no need for debate. We don’t suspect foreign referees of ill intent. They may make mistakes, but that’s different. We were eliminated from the Champions League due to a referee mistake. We definitely, absolutely want foreign referees. Human errors will always exist, but they will be distributed more fairly. Sometimes, it will go against us, sometimes against others—that’s football.”

When Ahmet Çakar asked, “Will problems decrease with foreign referees?”, Ilıcalı responded:
“100%, 1000%.”

REACTION TO MAURO ICARDI’S POSTS

When reminded of Mauro Icardi’s “Deja Vu” social media post, Ilıcalı criticized the Galatasaray striker:
“I strongly disapprove of and condemn Mauro Icardi’s posts targeting our president and head coach. I call on Galatasaray to take action. A player should never address a club president directly or show disrespect to an opposing president. Our players don’t do such things. This is against Turkish culture and traditions. A player or coach can protest when they feel wronged, but what does this have to do with Jose Mourinho? A player should never directly confront our president. We expected Galatasaray to warn him, but they didn’t. Now, we can’t tell our players to ‘stop’ either. I see a lot of jokes about Icardi, and I don’t like these kinds of things. I wish these personal attacks wouldn’t happen. People shouldn’t engage in such low blows.”