Hacıosmanoğlu clarifies why Vincic was appointed to the derby: 'It's as if he's coming in a rigged manner'

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu made statements regarding the football agenda during a joint live broadcast on Habertürk TV and HT Spor.

Here are İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu's statements:

"WE HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH GALATASARAY CLUB"

"We have no hostility toward anyone. During my time as president, we have never had a problem with Galatasaray club, and we never will. If those expecting privileges are uncomfortable with equality, that is not my problem; it is a moral issue. I am not saying this about Galatasaray specifically; this is a general philosophy. We will continue to be equal until the end of our lives."

"I have no baggage. I have no hidden plans in the back of my mind. I am a person who lives with his heart and his tongue. People can make assumptions. You cannot try to put a jersey on me. Whether it's Fenerbahçe's or any other jersey, my body would not accept it. God has given me such a jersey color that if you cut me, burgundy-blue blood flows. I carry both the color of the club I fought for and the color of blood. When I was a club president, of course, I was defending its rights. We have left that aside. When we set out, we drew a circle with President Mecnun. We won the election. The circle we established expanded and grew; God willed it. Our color is red-white. We set out to be at an equal distance to everyone. May God not let us do wrong."

"We have no concern with looking for people's flaws and exposing things. We encountered a deficit of 278 million liras. If you subtract the 5 deficit, there is 270 million liras of manipulation there. They said, 'We will fix it after the election.' We sent the financial director away that day. There is an audit firm; we called them. The shirt was buttoned wrong. I am not saying anyone stole money. We told the independent audit firm to 'fix this.' They said, 'I cannot fix it, I would lose my profession.' We agreed with a new independent auditor. They prepared a report. As a matter of responsibility, we transferred it to state authorities. It is in the judicial process. The judiciary will decide."

"There are Ahmet's men, Mehmet's men, men placed by bureaucrats and politicians. We removed the unnecessary ones, and we are still continuing to remove them. There are those who call, and we said, 'Everyone should mind their own business, we are doing what is necessary; we are not removing those who produce work, we are removing those who are unnecessary.'"

"YOU HAVE REALLY RUINED MY HEAD"

"I am the owner of these words. I said we are the children of people who ruled the world for 600 years. I said, 'I accept the human errors of our referees on the field, but I do not accept human error in VAR.' You are looking from many cameras. As I kept saying this, errors in VAR started to increase. I spoke with the referee friends during the break. VAR did not come at the request of any club. I told our referee friends, 'I stood by you, I doubled your personal rights.' So that they could manage the matches comfortably. I said, 'But you have really ruined my head.' Now I spoke about a foreign referee coming to VAR in the second half. If you do not ensure justice on the field, a foreign referee will come there too. I said you would watch from home, and someone else would come and take the money. I said these at the seminar, friends. We said it wouldn't happen, and we didn't do the opposite. The issue that wears out the federation the most is the referees. If we support them this much, you will do it on the field. There is a 25-year accumulation. It is not easy to clean up."

"We were leaving in 3 months, they gave us a lifespan. Now they said they are leaving in 6 months. Let me give an example, the first match of the season, the MHK (Central Referee Committee) made the referee appointments. A referee friend holds a meeting before the match. At the end of his speech, he tells the management, 'These will leave in 2-3 months.' Can you imagine? Among them, there are those who are attached to some people as a sense of belonging. They didn't think we would win either. It's a system they have managed for years. In the end, because they are attached with a sense of belonging, they probably think, 'These will leave, our older brothers will come back.'"

"We are suffering the pains of that system. Can that referee friend say, 'These will leave in 2-3 months'? Last week at the seminar, I said, 'Friends, do not trust your older brothers you trust, they are in the minority, they will be cleaned up. God willed it, the general assembly elected us, we are serving here. If God takes our lives, we will go as deceased; other than that, we will leave if we want.' How can you leave without a general assembly? We did not come by appointment."

"Conduct a survey in society. I also go abroad. Biased or unbiased, they say, 'If anyone can fix it, this management can.'"

"I ask, 'Why are you afraid?' Why shouldn't he call what he sees? He is afraid because of the size of the community, the interaction, and if he is attached with a sense of belonging. The new information I received is that a very important referee of ours says, 'We will act according to the president's style, but we have doubts about whether they will stay or not.'"

EXPLAINED THE REASON FOR THE FOREIGN REFEREE PREFERENCE

"Let's not limit it to individuals. It's not about one person. There are also people who lost the election. Those who still feel the inferiority. The federations before us were not managing that place with their own will. Let's put that aside. There were interventions from outside. It means there is an organization that the referee tells you, 'These will leave in 2-3 months.' It means he is getting that power from somewhere."

"There is no application to us. Like 'I want this, I want that.' The MHK makes the referee appointments. If these are being done at the request of the clubs, do not sit there. We do not take action at the request of the clubs. I spoke with the referee friends. I said, 'In order not to throw you in front of society, let's not give people the opportunity to criticize you, let a foreign referee manage to protect you.' They have no complaints either."

"HE SAID I WOULD BE HONORED"

"It's as if the Slovenian referee is coming in a rigged manner! The MHK President started the correspondence for this business with countries in Europe 1 week ago. There are England, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Germany, France. There is correspondence with all of them. Bosnia and Herzegovina is also there. All of them were contacted. England said, 'We don't give them abroad.' Finally, the MHK met with the Dutch referee. The referee said he would come. Then the Dutch Federation President was our guest. I called him and said, 'Let's have talks.' He apologized and said, 'We have problems too, we cannot give.' The Netherlands business also closed."

"On Monday evening, there is a Bosnian referee friend. He is also an elite referee. He has managed important matches in UEFA. The MHK President spoke with him. He said, 'I would be honored.' Upon that, the MHK President spoke with the Slovenian referee. On Monday evening, the Slovenian referee said by email, 'The procedure for this must come through official channels.' Our MHK President sent an email. By Tuesday morning, two alternatives remained. The Bosnian referee and the Slovenian referee. I said, 'Mr. President, if you bring the Bosnian referee, there will be trouble here, Fenerbahçe's striker is Bosnian. The Slovenian referee.'"

"All of these happened on Tuesday. There is a Champions League match. He has a match in his own country on Saturday at 1 o'clock. I had made my first visit abroad to the Slovenian Federation President. Thank God, they accepted too. These happened on Tuesday. It was not planned 1 week ago. There is so much correspondence; if such a subject had passed, you would talk about it with him. Would you do this much correspondence with other countries until Tuesday?"

"WE ALSO CONVEYED IT TO OUR PRESIDENT"

"Turkey is the country with the fewest errors in the 5 major leagues. If there is this much pressure on the referees every week. Is this country limited to two teams? Turkey is good compared to the 5 major leagues. There is no such pressure anywhere in the world. In Turkey, it's as if there is a race between two teams. Are our Anatolian teams extras? We found young friends. An instructor, a director came, we are trying to train the referees."

"The foreign referee is temporary. You will end a referee's life with the slightest mistake. Are we performing an operation here? Are we performing an operation by bringing the Slovenian referee? Today, he is one of the top 3 referees in Europe, maybe even the first. Is he coming here to perform an operation? Is he coming so that I can perform an operation in Turkey and my future will end?"

"ACUN ILICALI CAN TAKE A CONTESTANT FROM SLOVENIA TO SURVIVOR"

"Are we taking a contestant for the Survivor competition? There is no point in loading such big meanings onto people. The TFF is on one side, the UEFA President is on the other. Acun Ilıcalı can go and take a contestant from Slovenia to Survivor. It sounds attractive, he goes. Is there any point in loading this much meaning onto one person? Is it anyone's place? This is an insult to UEFA, to the TFF. Today everyone has pictures with everyone. Can there be such a big nonsense? We have no plans in the back of our minds. Just as we started the duty fairly, if we are equal to everyone, we will continue that way. Normally, I have no problem with Galatasaray, it cannot be. Everyone expects me to have a problem with Fenerbahçe, right? But it won't happen. We said we closed the old books the moment we became president. No matter how much you try to show me close to Fenerbahçe, you cannot do it; I am as close to Urfa and Trabzon as I am to Galatasaray."

"We couldn't do it in Turkey, we brought the best referee in the world to perform an operation, is that it? Where is Trabzonspor now? Where I am the federation president, its rights are being eaten, it is two clicks above the relegation line. If you cut me, burgundy-blue flows. But I am currently the TFF President, I am neutral. President Mecnun's team, Sivasspor, is playing for relegation. Friends say, don't use this word, couldn't he touch it if he wanted to touch it? The state of Trabzonspor and Sivasspor is obvious. We have the fear of God. If you want to make the Galatasaray community and fans enemies against us. I have had many enemies since my childhood. The only thing I want from God is not to let me do wrong. What does it matter if I have enemies as long as I don't do wrong?"

"WE HAVE NO PLANS IN THE BACK OF OUR MINDS"

"I am sad, I am not struggling. My biggest disappointment. We served as presidents in the same period. Our brother Dursun is older than us. We have no plans in the back of our minds. I still don't understand why he took a stance against us."

"A derby match will be played, we wrote invitations to both clubs. It is probably a first in federation history. We had breakfast with 4 club presidents. We sent the invitation. Their general secretaries called President Mecnun. They said, 'Our president will attend, we have a council meeting on Tuesday, is it possible for it to be on Wednesday?' Upon this, the friends returned to Fenerbahçe. Fenerbahçe Club said, 'It is suitable.' President Mecnun returned to their general secretaries again. He said Fenerbahçe was suitable. They confirmed it. As a federation, what is more natural than preventing the environment from getting tense, giving messages of friendship, and announcing this to the public? It coincided with 1 hour before the Rize match. What is in the statement that would affect the match? Where is the insincerity? If your general secretary is acting out a theater, we are not responsible for that, are we?"

IS AN OPERATION BEING PERFORMED ON GALATASARAY?

"I did not call the Fenerbahçe President before the meeting; because he declared he would come. I told President Mecnun, 'Will you call the President?' After the council meeting, President Dursun called. A nice conversation took place between us. We spoke on Tuesday evening. He said, 'We have no problem with you.' He stated the problem regarding his rival. I said, 'Mr. President, I have done nothing but friendship until today, why are you involving us?' He said, 'Mr. President, there is a proverb in Giresun: "He who cannot beat his donkey beats its saddle."' I didn't ask the meaning. There is no issue between us. The situation of Sivasspor and Trabzonspor is obvious. These have been ingrained in our soul. If we were organizing against Galatasaray, haven't we been able to succeed until today, how can there be a 6-point difference? We couldn't succeed with our own referees now, did we negotiate with UEFA and say, 'You send us the best referee so we can perform an operation,' is that what we said?"

"When we look at the level we have reached today, it is said that I and my friends are someone who wants the peace of our country and the sincerity of football stakeholders very much as the Galatasaray club. It is said that we do not need superficial friendships, we are in everything that is sincere. We are the club that has become a world brand of football, it says. Okay, fix it. One should not get involved in a work that makes brother an enemy to brother, I don't think our country needs this, it says. The subject turns into a country issue..."

"He says his rival is trying to create chaos in Turkey and divide the people, this is the subject that concerns me. He says we are on the side of our nation and our state, I thank him. He calls on his rival to divide the people here and create a survival problem. You can give the answer to this to your rival. Your rival gives the answer. In the aftermath, he accuses us of carrying water to the mill. He says, 'Do not be the federation president of one team.' You say, 'You are carrying water to this mill,' you are trying to involve us in this business with Mr. Ali Koç. I am the person who said for our President in a live broadcast, 'May God take from my life and give it to him.' After he laid down the law to the imperialist powers ruling the world in 2013, saying 'I will be an independent country,' these economic difficulties were entered. I am a witness to the struggle he made with those imperialist powers."

"We had no bullets to use. Now we have reached such a point that, let alone bullets, we are exporting bullets, we are exporting weapons. As a person with this mindset, you cannot put me in such a place and show me as 'carrying water to this mill.' Whether our President is in power or leaves power, I will continue to be his brother. Go to another door."

"LET HIM DOCUMENT IT, I WILL LEAVE THE PRESIDENCY"

"Everyone knows my inner self. Those who know me, know me. These perceptions don't stick to me. My tongue and my heart are one. In a program recently, I said these slanders are very heavy slanders to Mr. President Dursun. You leave the presidency tomorrow, and I will leave the presidency. Then the price of this will be heavy. It would be better if my sincere friend slapped me instead of cutting off greetings. I got angry at myself for using that word. If I am responsible for the administration of football, these accusations are being made, right? I have an ethics committee. As the management, I will refer the president to the ethics committee. I will offer him the opportunity. Let him document and prove 10 percent of the issues he accuses me of, and I will leave the federation presidency that day. If he cannot prove it, then I suppose our committees will deem them worthy of the punishment deserved in football history."

"My chief advisor is our brother who served as the private secretary to our President for 10 years. Football has problems. Footballers have SSK and Bağkur problems. He is talking to our sports minister. He is working to produce solutions. We have a joint work with three ministries. The meeting was held at the TFF 15 days ago. Regarding the number 6222. Both changes in the current law and additional laws will be added. Protecting the brand value of football and putting it in order is not just a job for the Federation. Doing the right things, taking the brand value of Turkish football to the place it deserves. We will sign a protocol with the Ministry of Family. Regarding love homes and orphan children. The protocol is being prepared. We will sign it with our minister."

"You are affiliated with UEFA. Don't they apply the legislation applied to local referees? These referees come with board decisions. Last year, VAR referees came with board decisions. This year, during the break, the VAR referee came with a board decision. Now what is the difference in between?"

"The goal was to put another committee that decides on the MHK. That is, a parallel structure. There is the MHK. You are putting another one on top of it. We removed it. Those referees are already given in the MHK. That is why we removed the TFF Referee Academy."

"IF HE MAKES A MISTAKE, WE WILL TELL UEFA"

"Basically, we have one goal: to bring the referee structure to the level. To continue the league with our own children. We brought one of the 3 important referees in the world. If he makes a mistake, we will tell UEFA, and they will punish him. The derby is not the end of the world. We have two distinguished clubs. May the one who fights well win."

"MURAT SANCAK'S REACTION WAS NOT RIGHT"

"Murat Sancak called me and said, 'I will withdraw the team from the field.' We said, 'Don't.' He reacted in his own way, but it was not the right reaction. We changed the instructions. We brought heavy fines. You may not be able to go out for force majeure reasons, that's different. We made a change that he will start with -9 one year later."

"LET'S SEE IF THEIR FACES WILL BLUSH?"

"It is unclear what they prepared the 46 ones according to. We took a decision here as the board of directors. All such positions will be published. After taking the decision, we published it. We did not take a retroactive decision. My thought was for the VAR room to be broadcast live. You will go in and watch live to see what is being talked about there. Now they say 'structure,' right? There is the Konya-Kayserispor match. There is a foreign VAR. The VAR referee is foreign, he says, 'Do not draw the position from the defender.' You define the skeletons, he cannot define the same skeletons. It needs to be drawn manually. If we draw from the defender, it looks wrong, if you draw from the attacking player, it comes out differently. He says it twice, isn't he the supervisor? That friend draws from the same place again. We said, 'Do not send that friend here again.' In the end, the VAR supervisor tells you to draw from the attacking player. You draw from the defender. It's just to be a stab in the back to the federation, what could it be?"

"I am saying it on television. We are watching with a friend who works in the state. We are listening to the commentators on an important channel. Our former referee friends are commenting this much. For God's sake, let them publish the statistics from the periods they were referees. Let's see if their faces will blush?"

"We will work with our referee friends, we will weed out the weeds. We have serious work regarding these issues. If you do not solve the problem from the root, you cannot solve it with dressing treatments. We have work with the state units, we will get the result."

"We took the England model in the penalty system, we changed the instructions. Some clubs went to Arbitration to cancel it. When you talk about any committee of the Federation, the deprivation of rights is heavy. After the fifth repetition, their management already falls. Let us all be moral. We cannot save this ship alone. We are working on the law numbered 6222. We will prevent violence in football with sanctions."

"We said you cannot use the spending limit through sponsorship contracts. We said you can use the money that actually enters your safe."

"THE HUNGARY MATCH IS IMPORTANT"

"The Hungary match is important. We will go up to the A league to play with better teams on better fields. God will will it. Hopefully, we will come out as first without playing play-offs. I was angry when we lost the Netherlands match. My little daughter said, 'Dad, why are you angry, there is a World Championship.' With her pure heart and prayers, hopefully, we will go and get the best result."

News Source: 12punto