Atilla Türker evaluates the football agenda for 12punto: The Super Cup crisis, the Ali Koç-Abdulkadir Selvi debate, and the referees...

Selçuk ÇELİK-12punto.com.tr

Journalist Atilla Türker evaluated the latest developments in the sports agenda on 12punto.com.tr.

Türker made statements regarding events on the sports agenda, ranging from the Super Cup final that could not be played in Saudi Arabia to the ''FETÖ'' debate between Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç and Abdülkadir Selvi.

THE ALI KOÇ-ABDÜLKADIR SELVI TENSION

Regarding the Super Cup match, which was planned to be played on December 29, 2023, but was subsequently canceled, Hürriyet Newspaper columnist Abdülkadir Selvi linked the banner featuring the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's motto ''Peace at Home, Peace in the World'' to "FETÖ," stating, "Of all things, was the motto 'Peace at home, peace in the world,' which was used by FETÖ members during the July 15 coup attempt, the only thing they could find to use in the match?"

Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç responded to Selvi, saying, "You are a man who once wept and slobbered for FETÖ; who are you to associate Fenerbahçe with FETÖ?"

ALI KOÇ IS A GREAT CHANCE FOR FENERBAHÇE

Evaluating this polemic between Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç and Abdülkadir Selvi, journalist Atilla Türker said, "Ali Koç is one of the prominent figures in the history of the Republic of Turkey in every respect. I believe Ali Koç is a great chance for Fenerbahçe. He put his body on the line for Fenerbahçe to be successful. One would have wished for him to be very successful. Because Turkish football needs clean people, but unfortunately, he has been very unsuccessful. Abdülkadir Selvi, on the other hand, is a name known for his inconsistent writings. I agree with Ali Koç's statements. I find Abdülkadir Selvi's remarks on this subject to be ridiculous."

"THE BIGGEST REASON THE SUPER CUP FINAL WAS NOT PLAYED..."

Assessing the Super Cup final, which was planned to be played in Saudi Arabia between Super Lig champion Galatasaray and Turkish Cup winner Fenerbahçe but subsequently caused a major crisis, Türker said, "I went to Saudi Arabia during the time the match was to be played and followed the events closely. I did live broadcasts on many television channels throughout the day. I can say very clearly that the biggest reason this match was not played is the incompetence and lack of seriousness of the Turkish Football Federation. Fenerbahçe managed it extremely well. But some circles tried to pin the blame first on Fenerbahçe and then on Galatasaray. I think there are some political reasons underlying this."

"I DO NOT BELIEVE REFEREEING CAN IMPROVE"  

Touching upon the referees, who have caused a crisis in Turkish football and are the most talked-about topic of recent times, Atilla Türker concluded his words by saying, "I have been following football for 50 years. I have also been involved in the refereeing community for about 40 years. I have followed many referee seminars closely until now. There has always been a referee problem in Turkey, but referees have never fallen into such a bad state. Because many factors such as fathers and sons, associationism, regionalism, lobbying, favoritism, the desire of referees to officiate more matches, and lack of training have piled up, and Turkish referees have crashed to the ground. Frankly, the coming of Thursday was evident from Wednesday. Now, it is even very difficult to find a president for the Central Referee Board. The trend is extremely bad, and I do not believe this trend can improve."