Football seen not with the eyes, but with the ears!

The Turkish Football Federation, one of Turkey's most trusted institutions, has done it again!

Don't get me wrong…

You decide where to start laughing at this sentence.

The TFF shared the VAR recordings of some of the matches played in the second week of the Süper Lig with the public.

Çorum FK-Kasımpaşa…

Fenerbahçe-Konyaspor…

Trabzonspor-Başakşehir…

Eyüpspor-Gaziantep FK…

A fantastic service in the name of transparency!

We applaud it.

However, there was a tiny omission in the list.

I mean, it's not even something important enough to catch anyone's attention!

There wasn't a single recording of the Alanyaspor-Beşiktaş match, which made headlines not just in Turkey, but from England to Italy, and from India to South Korea.

Especially regarding that incident in the 8th minute of the match…

I am talking about the incident where Alanyaspor's Fidan Aliti made contact with the face of Beşiktaş's Belgian star Leandro Trossard, whom they transferred from Arsenal…

The incident where the referee stopped the game, Beşiktaş players expected a red card, and VAR checked the position but ultimately no disciplinary action was taken.

Now, let's not be unfair to the TFF here.

Because technically, the federation has an answer:

According to the TFF's current practice, not all VAR conversations are shared with the public. Only the audio and video recordings of positions where VAR calls the referee to the monitor, i.e., "On Field Review-OFR," are published.

Well…

If the referee is not called to the monitor, the recording is not published either.

What a nice system, isn't it?

The main point of contention is why VAR did not call the referee to the monitor…

But because VAR didn't call, the public cannot learn what was evaluated in that position!

The key to open the door is inside.

To get the key, you need to open the door.

This is more or less the understanding of transparency in Turkish football.

And this is exactly what I am really curious about:

What happened in the VAR room in that 8th minute?

From which angles was the position watched?

How was the "check complete" decision made?

Was communication established between the referee and VAR?

If it was, what was discussed?

If it wasn't, how was this position evaluated outside the "clear and obvious error" threshold?

These are the things that need to be explained.

Because the position was not only discussed in Turkey.

The Sun carried the footage to England.

Mirror reported on the same event.

In Italy, headlines appeared to the effect of "Trossard slapped on the pitch, Turkey in turmoil."

The topic made news in India and South Korea.

In other words, people following football in various parts of the world looked at the screen and asked the same question:

If the referee didn't see this, how did VAR not see it?

But our football has a very important characteristic.

We don't see some things with our eyes.

We see them with our ears!

How so?

Sometimes there is an image right in front of your eyes.

The eye tells you something else.

But the environment of distrust that the football order has created for years constantly whispers other things into your ear.

This is where the real danger begins.

I don't know what anyone said to the referee.

I am not claiming that the VAR room was interfered with from the outside.

To be able to say that any match was "designed" by someone, we need concrete evidence.

But I can easily say this:

If you allow such a suspicion to arise in the football public, you are already experiencing a major management problem.

Because justice does not only have to be served.

It must also be seen to be served.

In the assessment attributed to MHK (Central Referee Committee) President Ferhat Gündoğdu, while it was acknowledged that a card was required for the position, it was stated that the action was not seen as being on the threshold of a "clear red card" and that no VAR intervention was made because it was open to interpretation.

Look, things are getting even more interesting.

A card is required…

But it's not obvious enough for a red card.

The hand goes to the face…

But it's being debated whether it "grazed" or "slapped."

People all over the world watch the footage and are baffled.

In Turkey, former referees are united in the opinion of a red card.

But from the VAR perspective, it is still not "obvious" enough.

They say that which cannot be explained becomes the subject of humor.

But in Turkish football, even humor is no longer enough.

Because what we are talking about here is not just Beşiktaş's three points.

I've moved past the three points.

I've moved past the jersey color.

Today it happens to Beşiktaş, tomorrow it happens to Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Trabzonspor, or Alanyaspor.

The issue is the system.

And football is no longer just a romantic game where 22 people chase a ball.

It is a giant economy where billions of liras are circulating.

Clubs pay millions of euros in transfer fees to players.

Broadcasters buy rights worth billions of liras.

Sponsors sign contracts worth millions of liras.

Fans buy jerseys.

They buy tickets.

They buy broadcasting packages.

Some of the clubs' football companies are traded on the stock exchange.

Beşiktaş Football Investments is one of them.

Therefore, the trust problem in football management is not just about the nerves of the guy in the stands.

It is also about economic value.

Here, one must specifically distinguish this:

We cannot say without evidence that a referee's decision directly lowers a specific company's stock price.

But no one can claim that sporting success, clubs' revenue expectations, participation in European cups, and broadcasting and sponsorship potential have no impact on economic value.

That is why the issue is serious.

So what can be done?

Clubs have been doing the same things for years.

"We condemn the federation."

"We invite the MHK to do its duty."

"We do not want this referee to be assigned to our matches again."

Then?

There is a match on Sunday.

On Monday, everyone is in front of the television again.

The broadcast continues.

The subscription continues.

The advertising continues.

The money continues to flow.

And the system continues.

Because do you know what language modern football understands best?

Money!

Then perhaps it is time to change the language of protest.

For example, if the Beşiktaş management came out and said this to its fans:

"Until concrete steps are taken regarding transparency and referee standards in football, reconsider your decision to renew your broadcasting packages within the framework of your contract terms and legal consumer rights."

What would happen?

No one is damaging anyone's property.

No one is storming the pitch.

No one is attacking the referee.

No one is doing anything illegal.

The fan is only deciding where to spend their money.

That's all.

They won't watch the match for a week.

They won't watch for a month.

If necessary, they won't renew their seasonal package.

They use their economic preference as a consumer.

That is when everyone starts listening to the issue a little more carefully.

Because a hundred thousand tweets posted on social media are forgotten a few days later.

Insults shouted in the stands go to the disciplinary committee.

The club's harsh statement remains on the newspaper page the next day.

But the decline in the income statement…

Everyone sees that.

The broadcaster sees it.

The sponsor sees it.

The club sees it.

The federation sees it.

All stakeholders of football see it.

I am not saying that the broadcaster manages the referees.

I have no such claim.

But it is the most natural commercial reflex in the world for a company that invests billions of liras in broadcasting rights to care about the reliability of the product it sells.

Because if the product you are selling is the Süper Lig, your customer will one day start asking you this:

"What am I watching?"

That is when the real danger begins.

The worst thing that can happen to a league brand is not a referee error.

Referees make mistakes.

They do it in the Premier League too.

In Serie A too.

In the Bundesliga too.

In La Liga too.

The real disaster is that the fan no longer believes that a mistake is a mistake.

Because once trust is gone, even if you put 48 cameras in VAR, it won't be enough.

Now we are entering the final days of the transfer period.

New planes will land.

New stars will arrive.

Contracts worth millions of euros will be signed.

Foreign players coming to Turkey no longer just look at the beauty of Istanbul, the atmosphere of the stadiums, or their salaries.

They do research about the league.

And if the footage of a footballer like Leandro Trossard, who came from the Premier League, experiencing this in a second-league match is circulating in the international media, I don't think we can say that this contributes to the brand value of Turkish football.

You slap a footballer once.

The referee doesn't see it.

VAR evaluates it differently.

The match ends.

But the footage remains.

This is what football managers need to understand.

The fan's anger may pass in three days.

But trust in institutions erodes a little more with every loss.

Then the federation publishes a hundred VAR recordings.

No one believes it.

The MHK makes a hundred statements.

No one listens.

The referee makes the right decision.

This time, people look for something else underneath it.

Could there be a greater loss for an institution than this?

That is why my concern is not just Beşiktaş.

Today it is Beşiktaş.

Tomorrow it is someone else.

Take off the color of the jersey.

There is a football order in place, and this order is losing trust.

Sometimes you seek your rights by shouting.

Sometimes with a press conference.

Sometimes through legal channels.

And sometimes by not taking out the credit card in your pocket.

Because if football is more of an economy than romance now…

The most understandable message to give to football managers is sometimes economic.

You don't watch the match for a week.

You don't watch for a month.

If necessary, you don't buy a broadcasting package for a season.

But perhaps that one-season sacrifice will contribute to the matches you watch in the coming years being managed more fairly.

Because those who manage football should not forget one thing:

You can tell the fan one thing with their eyes and another with their ears.

But you cannot fool both at the same time forever.

At the end of the day, the real referee of football is neither VAR nor the MHK.

It is trust.

And trust is not like a red card.

Once you've pulled it out, you can't call from VAR and take it back.