Major claim from Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç regarding VAR referees

Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç was a guest of Uğur Dündar on Sözcü TV. Making statements regarding VAR referees, Ali Koç said, "There is an Izmir group among the referees; we are hearing that this is causing problems and that people are now speaking out about it. There is also an Oğuz Sarvan group. Information is coming in that he is in the background. The PMİK is the committee that appoints referees. Ahmet İbanoğlu and Tolga Özkalfa are there. These appointments always happen around March 8. The person responsible for VAR is Tolga Özkalfa. He is a salaried professional, but he is a dentist! His patients come from abroad, and he cannot attend 3 out of 5 referee seminars! The system is left to Alper Ulusoy and Hakan Ceylan! The biggest problem is that the MHK President and board members do not review performance. They do whatever they want. There is manipulation in referee appointments! They have destroyed my trust in artificial intelligence."

"THE BROADCASTER IS INVOLVED"

Touching upon the broadcaster, Koç said, "The broadcaster is also involved in this. They cover up the positions of referees who make mistakes with exonerating angles. They tell their friends at the broadcaster, 'Do not include these positions.' A position in a match is removed from the Trio program. If something like this goes as far as the broadcaster, it is extremely worrying. They are playing not only with the footage but also with the statistics. There is no way the TFF knows this. They provide the images that the referee on the field will watch from the VAR room. If they want to put the referee on the field in a difficult position, they give one angle; if they want them to make a good decision, they give another! These allegations are terrible! They give a difficult angle to a referee they do not look upon favorably, and they give a different angle to a referee they favor. Woe to our state!" he stated.

HE NAMED 4 REFEREES

Stating that 4 referees in particular should be watched closely, Ali Koç said, "It is being discussed that Alper Ulusoy, Hakan Ceylan, Serkan Tokat, and Koray Gencerler are names that need to be looked at carefully. From now on, they might say, 'How dare you name us.' They might also take a step back and say, 'Are we making a mistake?' They will reach a point where they cannot come to our matches! I am saying this very clearly! We cannot be toys in the hands of 3-5 men! This cannot go on like this! What will Mr. Mehmet Büyükekşi do? He might not pursue it like past presidents! We need impartial and courageous people!" he said.