Fenerbahçe issues statement on 'unity': No room for interference

In a statement made from the yellow-navy club's social media account, it was stated, "We observe that certain expressions regarding dialogues that have been reflected in the public eye in recent days, and which were allegedly held on the plane on the way back from the Trabzon match about a month ago, have been taken out of context and presented with a different purpose. The dialogue in question is part of an extremely natural communication that took place within the family, with our players, and which could occur in a similar way in every team due to the nature of professional football. 

Such conversations within football and conversations that occasionally take place at the level of humor are normal. Drawing different meanings about our team through such instantaneous dialogues is contrary to the nature of football. We will not allow our players to be targeted through such headlines. This team has shown many times what the Fenerbahçe jersey means with the struggle, unity, and character it has displayed on the field throughout the season. To open this effort and this stance to debate through a single headline is an injustice to our players who wear this jersey.

Fenerbahçe is a whole with its technical staff, players, and management. No attempt targeting this unity will be given any room. Since the day we took office, a planned bonus system has been implemented in our club, and this system has been determined by mutual agreement with our players and continues within the same framework. All payments are made on time and in full in accordance with the established system. 

The necessary sensitivity has been shown against approaches that lead to our players being worn down through such headlines; we have parted ways with the person who carried a conversation within the family outside in a way that exceeded its purpose.

The sole focus of our football team is to continue our struggle in the strongest way possible in line with our upcoming matches and goals, together with our players, under the leadership of our head coach Domenico Tedesco. In this process, our belief in and support for our coach and our players is complete," the statement read.