Ali Palabıyık's response to Ali Koç: It is very dangerous

Former FIFA-badged referee Ali Palabıyık, who ended his refereeing career in July, made statements about his career and the sports agenda in an interview with Hürriyet.

Responding to the remarks made by Fenerbahçe Sports Club President Ali Koç regarding referees, Palabıyık stated, "Mr. Ali Koç's statements were unfortunate. I do not agree with most of them, and targeting referees is very dangerous."

Revealing the match that ended his career, Palabıyık said that Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, and Galatasaray did not want him.

Palabıyık used the following expressions:

"It is problematic to demand that fans harbor prejudices against referees, especially in their social lives. I cannot imagine a referee currently on duty. It is a very sad and bad situation, wondering if their photo is being taken at a cafe, if someone is recording a video, or if different situations might arise while they are talking to a friend.

Instead of such an environment, it should be the exact opposite; managers, players, referees, and observers should be together. A culture of respect must be fostered so that we, as referees, can be free of prejudices in the eyes of the public. I do not know how this can be achieved.

Previously, the TFF had implemented a very good practice. The content prepared by Nazlı Canyurt on Lig TV created a space that introduced us to the public, where we could show that we are human, that we have a family, and that we have a life outside of refereeing."

"THE ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR - GALATASARAY MATCH ENDED MY CAREER"

On the other hand, Ali Palabıyık said that the match that ended his refereeing career was the Çaykur Rizespor-Galatasaray encounter.

Ali Palabıyık said, "My refereeing career was ended by the decision I made in the final minute of the Rize-Galatasaray match. Just as I could not referee in my own country, both my match assignments and my invitation to the UEFA winter seminar were withdrawn. After these events, UEFA's perspective on me changed, and even the quality of the matches I officiated in Europe declined.

Factors within our own ranks, who acted as mentors and teachers to us in Turkey, also came into play. It was a great pride for me to officiate in the Champions League after Cüneyt Çakır and Fırat Aydınus. While I was thinking I would go even further, my observer grade from the last Champions League match I officiated was changed through the intervention of the UEFA Referees Committee. My 3 matches in the Champions League went very well, but unfortunately, there was no continuation."

"LET'S FINISH THESE REFEREES"

Speaking about the events of March 8, Ali Palabıyık said, "Actually, there was a report on the agenda from President Serdar Tatlı regarding 'naming' three referees. My Rize-Galatasaray match also came on the heels of these discussions. President Ferhat said, 'You are starting in the second half of the league,' but we still couldn't start. This time, they said, 'We are waiting for approval.' Just think, your FIFA 1st Category referee is going to officiate a match in his country, and the MHK President is waiting for approval! It took 1.5 months for the approval to come out. Just as we started and things were going well, we experienced the March 8 incident. I heard that the seeds for the emergence of the March 8 incident were actually sown after the Rize-Galatasaray match I officiated. A list of 12 people was reportedly made, and it was said to club presidents, 'Let's finish these referees.'"

News Source: 12punto