Ali Koç speaks out on referees ahead of Super Cup

Fenerbahçe Club President Ali Koç stated that they want to win the Turkcell Super Cup, which will be played tomorrow (December 29) in Saudi Arabia.

Making statements to FB TV before the Super Cup match to be played in the capital Riyadh, President Ali Koç underlined that the under-19 team, as well as the A team, traveled to Saudi Arabia.

Expressing that the management is also with the team, Koç said, "Hopefully, with God's permission, we want to be successful, win the cup, and return. Like every team playing in a final, we are hungry, eager, and hopeful. We think it will be good."

"WE ARE NOT AT ALL SATISFIED WITH THE COURSE AND THE PROCESS"

Touching on the subject of referees before the match, Koç emphasized that regardless of the result in the cup, they will make statements about both the cup process and what has happened in Turkish football in the last 2 weeks, and continued as follows:

"Regardless of the result in the cup, there is a stance that the Turkish Football Federation has put forward by zig-zagging regarding referees, both in this cup process and in what has been happening in Turkish football for the last two weeks. Everything will become clearer in the next two weeks. However, we have statements to make regarding all of this. We are going as representatives of Turkish football. A five-year project is being considered. As Fenerbahçe Sports Club, we feel the need to explain our stance on this project and the entire process. As I mentioned, regardless of the result in the cup, we have things to say. Because we are not at all satisfied with this course and the process."

"AN ATTITUDE HAS BEEN ADOPTED AS IF THERE IS NO REFEREE PROBLEM"

Reminding that the two teams will play in the Super Cup final abroad 5 days after the derby match played in the league, Koç stated that the two big teams represent Turkish football and said the following:

"At the same time, if we are thinking about the brand value and reputation of Turkish football, the performance of the refereeing staff is of great importance, just as much as our performance. Recently, in Turkish football, whether it is the Super Lig or the lower leagues, everyone except for one or two teams—and those teams are known to you—is uncomfortable with referee performance, appointments, and the performance grades given or not given after low performances. But if everyone is uncomfortable with this, it means there is a very big problem. However, after the unfortunate events in the match in Ankara two weeks ago, an attitude has been adopted as if these problems do not exist at all, as if there is no referee problem in Turkish football. Almost everyone, with the exception of a few clubs in the Union of Clubs, is uncomfortable with this issue. We will see whether there will be consistency between what our Federation tells us and what they will do from now on."

Speaking about the refereeing staff appointed to the match, Ali Koç said, "In our opinion, the referee appointed here is not the right appointment. But according to another view, it is said that there are no other referees to appoint given the current staff and the point we have reached. In our opinion, the right appointment for this match would have been to use a foreign referee; both on the field and in the VAR. The Federation was also very close to this, but after that incident I mentioned happened, for some reason everything suddenly changed 180 degrees. Therefore, the performance of the referee and the performance of the VAR are just as important as the performance of the two teams. Why do we say it is the wrong referee? The past experiences of the referee in question and the allegations made about him are known to everyone. Hopefully, these are unnecessary allegations, we are worried unnecessarily, and we play a derby where the referee is not talked about."

"WE FINISHED A DERBY WITH DISGRACEFUL NUMBERS"

Stating that the teams and the refereeing staff directly affect the quality of the game, Ali Koç said, "We finished a derby with disgraceful numbers. The ball was in play for almost half of the time played. There were 45 fouls, as you all know, but more importantly, the game stopped over 130 times. Free kicks, throw-ins, corner kicks... This is not something that should happen."

Reminding that last year's coach Jorge Jesus and this year's coach İsmail Kartal also drew attention to referee performances due to the constant stopping of the game in matches, Ali Koç noted the following:

"Fouls that we never see abroad are called in our country. Goalkeepers spend an incredible amount of time, contribute to the game stopping, and the referees allow this. Both the fouls that should not be called and the tolerance and flexibility shown to goalkeepers and players who want to waste time... Football is being played in an environment where players fall down almost if the wind changes. Hopefully, we will not see these in the Super Cup final, the flow of the game will be closer to European standards, and the time the ball stays in play will be according to European standards. We hope that both the teams and the referees will display a performance worthy of the reputation and brand value of Turkish football in this derby. Of course, you cannot tango with one person. Everyone needs to do their part here. There will be a very different match energy and match flow than the league match, but I felt the need to draw attention to these. Because it cannot go on like this. Hopefully, in the second half of our season, these problems I mentioned will be minimized, and it will be a second half where football is talked about more than the referee. Let's say that much for now. Hopefully, we will arrive in Saudi Arabia safe and sound. Our team will also have its training in the evening. We will wait excitedly for the match time tomorrow."

News Source: AA