Resignation call from Beşiktaş President Serdal Adalı

Speaking at a press conference regarding the failure to appoint a foreign referee for the Beşiktaş-Galatasaray derby, Beşiktaş President Serdal Adalı said, "By not appointing a foreign referee to this derby, the TFF has changed horses midstream. Today, a message was sent to Turkish referees that they are not capable of officiating the derby."

Inviting TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu to resign, Adalı stated, "No one should question our request for a foreign referee today. No one, especially the Federation President, should pressure Beşiktaş to 'trust Turkish referees.' A federation president who, during his time as a club president, held referees hostage in a locker room is the last person who can give us direction on this matter."

Adalı continued as follows:

"After the Eyüpspor match, I said that a good door had not been opened for Turkish football. The issue of foreign referees could only have been possible if the same practice were applied to all derbies. We stated that we wanted foreign referees for the Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Trabzonspor matches. This call for justice has gone unanswered. With its decision to appoint local referees, the TFF has declared to everyone that it has become a toy for our arch-rivals.

No one should question our request for a foreign referee today. No one, especially the Federation President, should pressure Beşiktaş to 'trust Turkish referees.' A federation president who, during his time as a club president, held referees hostage in a locker room is the last person who can give us direction on this matter. Expecting these people to solve the problems of Turkish football is nothing more than wishful thinking. The TFF has lost its validity. The TFF President must resign immediately.

We did not ask for privileges for ourselves. Even though we only asked for equality, we paid the price for requesting a foreign referee for the Galatasaray derby with Zorbay Küçük's scandalous officiating in the Gaziantep match. Despite being the community that has suffered the most to date, we have supported Turkish referees. Even though I knew I would receive criticism from our own community, we were careful with our tone. If that is the case, from now on, we will speak this language too. The TFF is responsible for any chaos. We will follow every step, down to an incorrect throw-in. We are also monitoring the opposing team's coach and players. We anticipate that Galatasaray will also react. From this moment on, we request that our state leaders address these issues and pull our football out of this quagmire it is in. I invite the TFF to resign. Everyone should be where they belong." 

News Source: 12punto