TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi responds to the question 'Will you be a candidate?'

In Turkish football, which has experienced a season marked by controversial referee decisions, acts of violence, and teams withdrawing from the pitch, TFF President Mehmet Büyükekşi, who has been the target of criticism from the sports community, made significant statements.

Speaking about the presidential election, Büyükekşi also answered a question regarding whether he would be a candidate.

"THERE WERE MORE THAN 100 GHOST EMPLOYEES" 

Speaking to Fanatik, Büyükekşi stated that they have changed the corporate structure of the TFF, saying, "There were more than 100 ghost employees. Of course, this was going to cause discomfort! This change did not make a certain segment happy."

REFEREE DECISIONS

Defending that referee decisions are controversial everywhere in the world, Büyükekşi said, "Today, in El Clasico, they are still debating whether the ball crossed the line or not. We have technology that they don't have there. Such a debate is not possible here. We are the first country after Italy to implement the semi-automated offside system. Along with Spain, we are one of the two countries that disclose VAR records," he said.

"WHAT IS THERE TO CRITICIZE THE TFF FOR?"

Reacting to clubs criticizing the TFF, Büyükekşi continued as follows;

"We made all these decisions together with our clubs. They said 'foreign VAR,' and we started implementing that too. Put the referee polemic aside, what is there that they can criticize the TFF for? We have carried out nearly 100 projects, but we cannot talk about those projects because we are talking about these things.

We brought in foreign observers. And here, the reports of foreign and local observers are very consistent with each other. We started the foreign VAR application. We have criteria there as well. We are limited to the federations of Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. We intend to bring the top-level referees here."

WHAT WAS DISCUSSED BEFORE THE SUPER CUP MATCH WHERE FENERBAHÇE WITHDREW FROM THE PITCH?

Büyükekşi said the following regarding the Super Cup match played between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, where Fenerbahçe took the field with its U19 team and then withdrew;

"During the Super Cup process, they wanted to put the TFF in the crosshairs with black propaganda and false information. Both clubs approved the Super Cup being played in Şanlıurfa on that date exactly two months ago. There was no objection at all. Later, after the Trabzonspor - Fenerbahçe match, they said, 'Let the Super Cup be postponed. All teams' matches in Europe were postponed. PSG's, Olympiakos's matches were postponed.' However, it was not the April 7 matches that were postponed, but the April 14 matches. We said, 'Let's postpone your Karagümrük match on April 14.' They didn't want it! They sent a letter saying, 'We do not want a postponement.' In Riyadh, in Şanlıurfa, we did whatever the clubs wanted. Look at all of this as a general picture, where is the TFF at fault!"

"SO FAR, 8 SUPER LIG CLUBS HAVE SIGNED"

Speaking about the upcoming TFF presidential elections, Büyükekşi answered the question, "Will you be a candidate?"

Büyükekşi continued as follows;

"During the signature collection process, we faced a lot of defamation. We respected the democratic rights of the clubs. We still do. The TFF main statute, articles, and legal solutions are clear. Moreover, even though we still had 3 years left in our term, we made an extraordinary general assembly decision. Who does that! But some clubs in the minority turned to other paths instead of collecting signatures through democratic means. So far, 8 Super Lig clubs have signed, and one president has signed. All of those who signed in the lower leagues are those who have been relegated to a lower league or are likely to be relegated. About 3 weeks have passed, and the number of signatures reaching the TFF is around 60. A few clubs are trying to speak on behalf of all clubs.

WILL HE BE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE?

As for your question about the presidency. I am already the president right now. I am not in a position to make a move. There is ugly propaganda there too. There are those who falsely say, 'He became a candidate, he made a decision'; there are also those who say, 'He resigned, he will resign, next week, next month.' Let's say it's 50-50 for now. It would not be right for me to say 'I am a candidate or I am not.' Let the league end, let's look at the general expectations of the football family. Let's see who is here and who is not! Let's see if we still have suitable conditions to realize our projects, then we will decide. But let the football public know this, neither in my professional business life nor in my TFF presidency did I sit in the seat to gain power from the seat, and I never will!"

"70 PERCENT ARE BOT ACCOUNTS AND TROLLS"

Claiming that 70 percent of the criticism directed at the TFF on social media are bot accounts and trolls, Büyükekşi said, "There is a big difference between criticizing and attacking or slandering. We see the criticisms in the mainstream media, and we respect the opinions of the commentators. Almost all sports journalists do journalism with a certain discipline and moral values. But social media and some YouTube channels are not like that. We already do not see them as sports media. Of course, our legal struggle continues. But when the time comes for detection, we see that nearly 70 percent consist of bot accounts and trolls. The intention here is to put pressure on the referees while also wearing down the TFF. Look, Halil Umut Meler and his team were selected for the EURO2024 squad. He recently officiated the Liverpool - Atalanta match. I believe he will also take part in Europe in the coming period," he stated.