Praise for Fenerbahçe fans from İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu: He announced his first act if elected president

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) will go to the polls for the presidential election on July 18.

The TFF announced that the candidacies of current president Mehmet Büyükekşi, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, and Servet Yardımcı have been accepted for the election, which has drawn the attention of the sports community.

Former Trabzonspor president and TFF presidential candidate İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu made statements regarding the agenda on the program "Az Önce Konuştum Spor" (I Just Spoke Sports), broadcast on Asist Analiz.

Expressing that there is a lack of willpower in Turkish football, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "We come from within football. I had received requests before. I wanted to stay away at that time, but when you look at it now, Turkish football needs a fair and just administration, a will. There is a lack of willpower in Turkish football. The will of the minister at the top is very important. If the general assembly members entrust us with the duty, we will carry Turkish football to better days by demonstrating a fair and determined administration."

'THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THE REFEREES'

Stating that the biggest problem is the referees, Hacıosmanoğlu commented, "The president's stance and will are very important. When you try to please this person, that person, Ahmet, Mehmet, or Hüseyin, chaos ensues. Because you can please someone every week. However, what does the TFF statute tell you? The rules and principles are clear. It is to apply the rules to everyone by standing at a fair and equal distance. If the president demonstrates this will, this stance will permeate all the elements below. The referees also see that the president is trying to please one person one day and another the next. They follow suit, and these problems arise. When that happens, there is no justice on the pitch, and chaos ensues. The biggest problem is the referees. We will tell the referees to go out and manage their matches fairly. Despite this, if they show a reaction to you, they are showing it to us, and it is our job to put them in their place."

'WE DID NOT TRUST OUR OWN CHILDREN, WE BROUGHT IN ASSISTANT REFEREES'

Stating that last year was not a fair season, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said, "Never. We did not trust our own referees, our own children, and we brought in assistant referees. You stand behind the referees, improve their rights, and then see if there is a problem. But for this, you need willpower from the start."

'WHAT SHOULD THE OTHER TEAMS DO IN A LEAGUE WHERE TWO TEAMS COMPETE?'

Emphasizing that Anatolian clubs want justice, Hacıosmanoğlu stated, "They want justice. What should the other teams do in a league where two teams compete and reach 100 points? You must also increase their resources."

'I WILL WATCH MY FIRST MATCH IN DİYARBAKIR'

Expressing that Amedspor supports him, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said, "Yes, I spoke with them. They say we are Turkey's team. They say this homeland is ours, and sports are about brotherhood. They say we are very happy that you entered into this dialogue with us, and we can only do this with you. For us, the homeland is indispensable. Why should we be prejudiced against those who love their homeland and want brotherhood in sports? If God wills it and I am elected federation president, I will watch my first match in Diyarbakır."

'EVERY PRESIDENT WILL BE ABLE TO REACH US WHENEVER THEY WANT'

When asked about his statements regarding Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç, Hacıosmanoğlu replied:

"At that time, I was someone representing my institution, Trabzonspor. If something is said about Trabzonspor and Trabzon there, people expect an answer from us. I was representing Trabzonspor then; now we want to represent the brotherhood of Turkish football. Those things remained there. In the new term, we have opened our doors to everyone, to all presidents, to manage Turkish football fairly and justly. Every president will be able to reach us whenever they want."

'NO ONE CAN CALL US FENERBAHÇE ENEMIES'

Stating that he looks at all clubs with the same perspective, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu declared, "No one can call us Fenerbahçe enemies. I have always said this; Fenerbahçe fans are the most magnificent fans in this country, the ones who own their team the most and provide the most revenue. I have said this before. The leading figures of Fenerbahçe are my friends and acquaintances. But at the executive level, while we represent an institution, those who represent that institution must also be careful with their words. Everyone who wants and desires success on the pitch will benefit from our fair and just style. We look at all clubs with the same perspective."

'WE WERE ALSO CONSTANTLY RECEIVING THREATS'

Stating that if he is elected president, the rights of the referees will be granted and the environment everyone wants will be provided, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "Let's not think of it as referee covering. There was a FETÖ conspiracy at that time. We were also constantly receiving threats, but we didn't take them too seriously. We had made good transfers, we were doing well. In a Galatasaray match, Denayer blocked like a volleyball player, and Cüneyt Çakır did not give our penalty. Then the Konya match, the Antep match... They do it especially in Trabzon, so that chaos breaks out. They file lawsuits from the Netherlands, not even from Turkey. Regarding that issue. It was a FETÖ operation. In our term, the rights of the referees will be granted, and everyone will ask where these referees were until now. We have come from those times to these times."

'I REGRETTED SAYING THAT'

Expressing that Turkish football needs unity, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "Match-fixing was on the agenda, it was being talked about. I made a speech at a general assembly. It was being talked about that Trabzonspor had offered match-fixing to Sivasspor. I said at that time that Trabzonspor offering match-fixing to Sivasspor was like Fenerbahçe coming and offering match-fixing to Ofspor, but then I regretted saying that. We have a friendship; Turkish football needs unity. I will speak more carefully; I had a small shortcoming there. I said let's embrace first, then we will embrace everyone. I am the president, Mecnun Bey is the vice president. We will be friends with everyone, we will go to matches everywhere."

'OUR REVERSE GEARS WERE BROKEN AT BIRTH'

Stating that over 100 clubs have signed for him, Hacıosmanoğlu said, "Our reverse gears were broken at birth. Over 100 clubs signed for us. We have friends within the state and in the civilian sector who are leading the way. There is no situation where we would abandon these people and leave. There is nothing that has reached me, and there is no possibility of it reaching me. I have endless respect and love for our President who governs this country. He is our leader."

'THERE IS A VERY GOOD GENERATION'

Touching upon the A National Football Team's performance in the 2024 European Football Championship (EURO 2024), Hacıosmanoğlu continued his words as follows:

"I believed in the championship after we passed Austria. There is a very good generation. I am not criticizing, I hope our coach does not misunderstand, but you brought a forward into the game in the final section and there were positions. It means if you had brought him in earlier, it could have been different."

'IF NECESSARY, I WILL GO AND SIT IN THE AWAY STAND'

Stating that he wants to ensure justice in football and aims to spread brotherhood across the country through sports, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said, "My biggest dream is to ensure justice in football. To spread brotherhood across the country through sports and to do this by going to every region of the country and listening to the clubs. To strengthen every team, to spread success to Anatolia as well. To lift the away bans, if necessary, I will go and sit in the away stand."

Commenting on the foreign player limit, Hacıosmanoğlu concluded his words as follows:

"A lot of technical work needs to be done on that issue. In my opinion, it is not the limit, but the quality that is important. Decisions should be made without putting the clubs in a difficult situation; we have studies. We will implement them when we arrive."

News Source: 12punto