Abdullah Avcı's pitch protest

Trabzonspor manager Abdullah Avcı made statements ahead of their Ziraat Turkish Cup Round of 16 match against Gençlerbirliği.

Addressing the poor results in recent weeks, Avcı said, "Our injured players are returning little by little. Last week, the performance was somewhat satisfying, but the score was not. I hope we continue to improve this."

Commenting on the pitch at Eryaman Stadium, where the match will be played, Avcı stated, "You can see the pitch. Two days ago, Ankaragücü didn't want to play here either. Today, Gençlerbirliği surely doesn't want to play here, and we don't want to play here either. The stands are empty. The quality of the game has dropped. When you look at our league today, for example, we are going to play a team in Istanbul, and we don't even know which stadium we will play in. Are there no criteria? Will this not change? How are we going to change this while talking about brand value? How are we going to play this game? How are we going to build brand value? This game is played on a healthy pitch."

Touching on the problems in the country's football, Avcı said, "Is the TFF making a statement? The Super Cup final wasn't played; is there any statement regarding that? Will it be played? Why, how will this game develop? There is illness, there is an earthquake, and we are playing. No answers will be given. Every week we talk about the referees. I was also hurt last week. I felt cornered, I wanted to explain. I am saying this for the health of the athletes and for the brand value. I am saddened; I wanted to vent a little and speak out. I hope it changes, but I know it won't. Our state built so many stadiums, but we don't look after the pitches. Another match will be played here in two days. No answer will be given to this, and nothing will be done to fix it."

Finally, speaking about the Thomas Meunier transfer, Avcı said, "He has an important career. 4 years at Club Brugge, 4 years at PSG, 4 years at Dortmund. There is no need to say anything about this career. We spoke with 6-7 right-backs, it didn't work out. He has an important career. He also plays in different formations. I received the necessary information from Coach Nuri as well. He said positive things. He has a very nice, positive communication. We think he will be useful."

News Source: 12punto