Galatasaray President Dursun Özbek's 'Black Market' statement: Let's not harm Galatasaray

Galatasaray's annual ordinary general assembly meeting began at 10:00 at the Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center.

Reports covering the period from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, will be presented at the congress.

Following this, a vote of confidence will be held for President Dursun Özbek and his administration at the yellow-red club.

The general assembly will conclude after the applications of members who have received disciplinary penalties are reviewed and decided upon.

The highlights of the statements made by Galatasaray President Dursun Özbek at the General Assembly are as follows: 

GOAL IS THE FINAL 

"Our football team added new successes by becoming champions for two consecutive years. It crowned these successes with records. In addition, we won the Super Cup of the 100th anniversary of the Republic, which has great moral value. We passed 3 qualifying rounds and reached the group stage in the Champions League. I send my thanks to our entire team, especially our coach Okan. We are sad that we could not stay in the Champions League this year. There is a new opportunity to turn this sadness into a success story. We have set our goal as the final in the Europa League. We are in 8th place among 36 teams at the end of the second week. Dear Galatasaray fans, we will play very important matches in a row. Our football team entered the international break as the leader in the league. We are moving with firm steps to win our 25th championship at the end of the season. We are impatient to carry the 5th star on our jersey."

"WE ARE PROUD OF EVERY ATHLETE"

Regarding branches other than football, Özbek said, "In the 2023-24 season, we won a total of 94 trophies and 424 medals with our 2026 athletes. I would like to thank our athlete brothers and sisters, our coaches, and their families who contributed to this success. Whether they win a trophy or not, we are proud of every athlete who wears the Galatasaray jersey."

"WE BROKE RECORDS"

Regarding ticket revenues and jersey sales, Dursun Özbek stated, "The revenue we generated from season tickets, VIP, and daily ticket sales reached 52 million euros. This shows the previous year. I thank our fans who have always been with us despite the season ticket prices increasing 4-fold. Our Galatasaray reached an average of 43 thousand spectators. I believe that this record in our new stadium will increase with the successes our football team will achieve. We continue our constant growth in retail with a turnover of 79 million euros, breaking a record. Last year, we reached 701 thousand jersey sales and broke a record. As of this season, we have sold 412 thousand jerseys and we want to reach the target of 1 million jerseys."

WE WANT TO MAINTAIN FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE 

Özbek continued his words regarding economic issues, "We want to maintain financial discipline. Sponsorship and advertising revenues reached 75 million euros last year, breaking a record. The success of our football team has increased this revenue item. We have reached the gross profit of the last 10 years. It is very important to obtain a consolidated gross profit because it includes the expenses of all branches. Real estate valuation and inflation accounting are not included. After many years, we broke a record and achieved a consolidated record profit of approximately 5.2 billion liras. This represents a record in Galatasaray's history."

ABOUT THE ASLANTEPE PROJECT

Regarding the Aslantepe project, Özbek stated, "Galatasaray Sports Club has 17 branches. The biggest of our problems today is the spread of Istanbul across all of Turkey. Since we do not have the necessary facilities for infrastructure, we are trying to rent elsewhere. The purpose of the Aslantepe project is to gather them all in one place and avoid unnecessary expenses. This project is very important and is the future project of Galatasaray."

Dursun Özbek said the following regarding season ticket and ticket sales:

"I am sharing with you the average number of spectators in our home matches in the 2023/24 season. The capacity of our stadium is 53 thousand 978 people. After excluding the press, protocol, disabled tribune, and buffer zone, 50 thousand 168 remain. Last season, 41 thousand 641 season tickets were sold. The number of sellable seats on match day is 8 thousand 554. The number transferred from season tickets is 6 thousand 166. In derbies, these transfer figures drop to the hundreds. Including transfers, the number of sellable seats on match day is 14 thousand 720. The number of sales involving the club is 1 thousand 549. The payments and definitions of these sales are also made through Passolig and there is a record. Every ticket sold for the subject discussed in recent days has a record. Therefore, I find this very valuable. Because when it comes to the mentioned insinuation, it is extremely possible to identify the perpetrators in the investigations to be carried out if information and documents regarding these reach us."

"IF THERE IS A GUILTY PARTY, THEY WILL RECEIVE THEIR PUNISHMENT"

Regarding the black market ticket allegations, Dursun Özbek said, "If there were an allegation, the owner would have done what was necessary with information and documents. Let me ask, do these exist? 'I heard it from there,' there is nothing else. Even if it were my own son, if there is a mistake, I would not show mercy. I want you to be a little patient on this issue. We find the issue extremely important and we are very determined to pursue it. We have fallen into such a situation that an perception is being created as if we are responsible for the black market. Do those who spread rumors think about the harm they are doing to Galatasaray? This issue is very important for both the board of directors, you, and the great Galatasaray community. As the management, we are conducting all investigations and we have made the necessary complaints. I ask you here, as this issue is discussed, it harms Galatasaray more. These investigations will end in a very short time. We should discuss these according to the result. Some statements do not befit either our Galatasaray or our ethical values. If there is a guilty party, they will receive their punishment."

"WE DID NOT EARN A SINGLE PENNY"

Regarding the canceled jersey back sponsorship agreement, Özbek said, "Another issue is the jersey back sponsorship agreement. We proceeded by getting approval from the TFF to sign the contract. On September 30, the TFF canceled the permission it had given, and we terminated the contract. Let them not try to explain this in another way. We did not earn a single penny from this sponsorship. Even without this sponsorship, we will continue to win against their single-source distributed sponsorship support."