Fenerbahçe Executive Kızılhan Speaks Out: “This Is More Than a Referee Mistake—It’s Theft!”

Fenerbahçe General Secretary Burak Kızılhan commented on Adana Demirspor‘s decision to leave the pitch during their match against Galatasaray.

REACTION TO MERTENS

Speaking to TRT Spor, Kızılhan said:

“We all witnessed what happened tonight. We saw a club rebelling after falling behind against Galatasaray due to an unjust decision. Mertens, as he has done many times before, threw himself to the ground, and the referee allowed it. He is not the only one doing this at Galatasaray. There are several players who act as if it is their duty to dive during matches. They don’t receive yellow or red cards. This has been going on for years. Our outrage tonight is not just about a referee mistake—it’s about the theft of hard work.”

“IN RIYADH, WE WERE BLAMED; ADANA LEFT THE PITCH, WE WERE BLAMED AGAIN!”

Reacting to Galatasaray’s statements, Kızılhan said:

“Even though everything is crystal clear, they try to distract attention, change the narrative, and cover up this disgrace by saying, ‘They left the pitch as part of a setup.’ Of course, we are not surprised. If there is a setup, Galatasaray is at the center of it. The name of the setup in this match is Mertens and the penalty he won by deceiving the referee. Now they are trying to link this to Fenerbahçe, and we are almost being convinced by their claims of victimhood. In Saudi Arabia, two teams refused to play, yet Ali Koç and Fenerbahçe were blamed. Tonight, Adana Demirspor left the pitch, and once again, Fenerbahçe is being blamed. They are playing the victim again. I want to address Anatolian clubs: Please do not fall into this trap! They have been playing the same game, the same theater for years—let’s not be fooled by it anymore.”

“WE HAVE NEITHER ILLEGAL BETTING NOR BLACK MARKET TICKETS!”

Continuing his criticism of Galatasaray, Kızılhan said:

“Thank God, we don’t have black-market tickets, illegal contracts, or executives involved in promoting illicit betting. It is certain that we are honest, upright, and ethical. We are very different from them, and thankfully so!”

“WHEN DZEKO’S EYEBROW WAS SPLIT OPEN, DIDN’T HE KNOW HOW TO DIVE?”

Highlighting Galatasaray players’ tendency to go down easily, Kızılhan said:

“Foreign VAR referees were not requested only by Fenerbahçe—all clubs agreed to it. It’s too early to judge their impact this season. Referee mistakes are only half of the issue. What we should focus on is a player continuously deceiving the referee by making the same move repeatedly. Of course, referees will make mistakes, but not once, not twice, not three times… Fortunately, we don’t have such players, but remember the match where Dzeko‘s eyebrow was split open. Did he not know how to throw himself to the ground? But we don’t have that kind of muscle memory.”