Acun Ilıcalı answers the question of why Fenerbahçe could not become champion: We are very sad

Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı participated in the program 'Sözün Özü' with Hakan Ural, broadcast on Ekol TV, where he made important statements and answered questions regarding the current agenda.

Stating that all teams are established with the goal of success and that everyone's target is the championship, Acun Ilıcalı said, "If we talk about the 'Big Four,' the dream of three of them does not come true every year. We could not become champions this year either. We are very sad, of course."

CHAMPIONSHIP QUESTION

Acun Ilıcalı responded to questions about why they could not become champions by saying, "When asked 'Why?', it is not a subject I can give a single answer to. But of course, we are very sad."

"WE HAD REQUESTED FOREIGN REFEREES"

Stating that the TFF thought foreign referees would block the progress of local referees, Ilıcalı said, "The federation thought that if we went down this path for a very long time, our referees would fall far behind. We had actually requested foreign referees and were happy when they arrived. There were strange accusations regarding that, such as 'Why aren't you insisting on it?'"

Emphasizing that they requested the bringing in of foreign referees, Ilıcalı said, "It is ultimately a decision of the federation; there is nothing to be done about it. We have always said, throughout the league, that we want fair competition. We wanted everything to be fair. Every time we said this, we were attacked. We are at the same point on this issue. We want fair competition. We have always looked favorably upon foreign referees."

“STRANGE SITUATIONS OCCURRED”

Stating that there is a 'structure' in Turkish football, Acun Ilıcalı said, "The other side said it too. They have the same claim as well. I think there is a structure in football. Football is not played innocently in Turkey. But I can say that the outrage we described has decreased since foreign referees arrived. Under normal circumstances, extraordinary things have always happened. The fact that we were unsuccessful today does not mean that these things did not happen. Strange situations have always occurred in football. They happened for a long time this season as well. I do not think there was such an external factor in the period after the foreign referee arrived."

"IF THERE HAD BEEN A FOREIGN REFEREE, A LOT WOULD HAVE CHANGED"

Acun Ilıcalı pointed out that if the matches had been officiated by foreign referees from the beginning of the season, the result would have been very different. Ilıcalı said, "If the head referee had been foreign from the very beginning, we would have been 100 percent in the running for the championship. We would have gone neck and neck."

"THE 8-POINT GAP IS DUE TO REFEREE ERRORS"

Emphasizing that the reason for the 8-point gap was referee errors, Ilıcalı said, "The most important reason for the gap between us and our rival, who enjoyed privileges in the first half of our league, is referee errors. I am not the one saying this; we brought in a foreign referee and asked him. He looked at the match situations. Especially for a few matches, he said, 'I have never seen such a match.'"

"WE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN THE FINAL PERIOD OF THE LEAGUE"

Ilıcalı stated that they performed unsuccessfully in the final period of the league, but he does not know what could have happened in the league in a scenario where there was no 8-point gap and the race continued neck and neck.

"THERE WAS A DISASTER IN THE FIRST HALF"

Stating that "there was a disaster in the first half of the season," Ilıcalı said, "I can say that referee errors decreased significantly in the second half with the arrival of foreign VAR officials."

"WE SIGNED WHOMEVER MOURINHO WANTED"

Acun Ilıcalı responded to the criticisms by saying, "We signed whomever Mourinho wanted. I have difficulty understanding this. We brought in a head coach. 30,000 people welcomed him. He was a name everyone agreed on. We signed our players with his approval. He said this himself as well. In his interview in January, he said he did not want any transfers. We have obtained everything our head coach requested. As a management team, I am thinking about what more we could have done beyond this."

"WE LIVE WITH 15 SLANDERS A DAY"

Acun Ilıcalı continued his remarks by saying, "I watch what we are going through with astonishment. As the Fenerbahçe management, starting with our president, we live with about 15 slanders a day, as if the rule is 'the more we slander, the more engagement we get.' This is normal in Turkey. But after bringing him everything he wanted, what were we supposed to do? The responsibility is ours, and I accept that. People also need to put their hands on their hearts. One would ask, 'What were we supposed to do that we didn't?'"

Acun Ilıcalı'S REACTION TO OSIMHEN

Answering the question about whether Fenerbahçe had wanted to transfer Osimhen in the past, Acun Ilıcalı reacted sharply to the allegations, stating, "I am underlining this. I have answered this question in 3 different places. Our president has also answered it separately. Let me answer it one more time. He did not come to us, and we did not reject him. There was no conversation like 'Will you sign Osimhen?' They asked in November, I said it; they asked in October, I said it. There are records of all of these. I have given the same answer in all of them. I do not understand why lies are being manufactured."

"I DO NOT FIND COLLECTING SIGNATURES RIGHT"

Commenting on the signatures collected to hold the Extraordinary Election, which is planned for September, earlier than scheduled, Ilıcalı said, "I respect it. Collecting signatures is a democratic right," but added, "However, I do not think that going down this path is the right thing to do."

NOT THE RIGHT METHOD FOR FENERBAHÇE

Ilıcalı explained the reason for this opinion with the following words;

"If signatures are collected based on 20% for a re-election and an operation is carried out, won't this pave the way for the future? Let's say an election was held today, and the losing side received 40% of the votes. Won't they collect signatures 6 months later and demand another election? Won't this path be opened? It is not because we are afraid or scared of an election. I say let there be an election if there is to be one. But I do not think it is a very appropriate method for Fenerbahçe."

News Source: 12punto