Historic congress at Fenerbahçe concludes: Board granted 4-point authorization!

Following the events that occurred during the Süper Lig match played against Trabzonspor, Fenerbahçe, which decided to hold an extraordinary general assembly, "evaluating actions to be taken, including the withdrawal of the A-team from the Süper Lig" is convening with the agenda of...

The Extraordinary General Assembly Meeting at Ülker Stadium will begin once a quorum is reached.

ALİ KOÇ AND İsmail Kartal HAVE ARRIVED

Prior to the extraordinary general assembly, which was to be held if a quorum was reached at Fenerbahçe Club, President Ali Koç and the head coach of the A football team İsmail Kartal, arrived at Ülker Stadium.

Before the meeting to be held at the stadium, the yellow-navy club's president Ali Koç and board members, along with A football team head coach İsmail Kartal, entered the area accompanied by applause and chants.

Ali Koç and İsmail Kartal were joined by players Bright Osayi-Samuel and Ferdi Kadıoğlu also accompanied.

President Koç and those accompanying him were applauded for a long time by the congress members who took their places in the stands.

Fenerbahçe Vice President and Club Spokesperson Erol Bilecik came to the podium and addressed the congress members. Bilecik announced that there was a very large crowd outside and that the general assembly meeting would begin after they entered the stadium. Erol Bilecik said, "There is a massive crowd outside. We need a little more time to reach the required number and ensure further participation. Afterwards, we will open our General Assembly meeting with an announcement. Thank you for your patience."

"WE WILL BE ONE HEART SHOULDER TO SHOULDER"

Erol Bilecik stated that the quorum had been reached and the required number had been exceeded. In his statement, Bilecik said,"Take good note of today. Today, we have surpassed 22,588 congress members here. Today is a day that all of you will say one day in the future, 'I remember that day very well.' It is the day we stand up to seek our rights. It is the day we determine the next steps. We are together to put an end to this course of events. We are here to question the injustices done to our Fenerbahçe. The horrific attacks and lynching attempt against our athletes in the Trabzonspor match were the final straw. The ultimate point of injustice is to consider injustice as fair. We are here today not to talk about the future of our football team, but also to protect and defend the integrity of our club. Every injustice that goes unaccounted for breeds a greater one. Today, we will be one heart, shoulder to shoulder with our millions of fans. We will not leave the injustices done to us for tomorrow, nor will we let them go unpunished. We are experiencing a day that will be considered a milestone in Turkish sports history. All examples considered milestones are being experienced through us. Every wrong done to us has been done to Turkey. Every time Fenerbahçe stands up, it is Turkey standing up. Today, we will stand against injustices and unfairness as one heart." he stated. 

Fenerbahçe High Council Board President Uğur Dündar, who began speaking after Erol Bilecik, said "Distinguished congress members of our Fenerbahçe, the world's greatest sports club, we greet you all with our deepest love and respect. Today, we have gathered for a very important day in our club's glorious history, one that will be told with pride from generation to generation" he said. 

GOOSEBUMPS 

Speaking at the Extraordinary General Assembly, Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç, ''Dear congress members, beloved members of Fenerbahçe, Turkey's largest family, the banners I see before me have moved me and my colleagues. We have already stood tall and did not bow; that is where the trouble stems from. I thank you, I think we should take down the banner. I have goosebumps'' he said. 

Ali Koç's statements are as follows: 

An extraordinary turnout for an extraordinary, extraordinary, extraordinary congress. We have a lot of work to do, and much to tell and discuss. I say extraordinary, not because it is an Extraordinary General Assembly. It is extraordinary that you have filled the stands like this in such a short time during the holy month of Ramadan. There were enemies who wanted us not to reach this number. With this participation, you have rendered the enemies and trolls ineffective. Good for you."

"As a community, we have been forced to sustain a heavy struggle in many areas—legal, economic, and social—for many years. In fact, the reason we are here today in this manner is to evaluate and decide on the methods and potential outcomes of the struggle we will wage against the reckless and cowardly usurpation of our labor and rights."

"In our last match against Trabzonspor, we were once again forced to play a match that would not be allowed to be completed in any normal country in the world. As we have experienced many times before, an attempt was made once again to steal our labor through a planned organization. I fear these will continue until the end of the season. What has happened is to a degree that would disturb anyone with even a shred of conscience."

"DIRTY ALLIANCES! INFURIATING DECISIONS!"

"The reason we have gathered here today is not just because of what happened in that match, but much more. The 3 championships we lost in recent matches, the so-called match-fixing conspiracy, the theft of our championships through dirty alliances, decisions on the pitch that drive people crazy, the double-standard sanctions of the TFF and its boards, and some rivals spewing hatred and malice with the understanding that 'all means are permissible for success,' along with countless other events. They have made us say 'enough' at last. Truly enough, not the 'enough' you are used to!"

"WE HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO INJUSTICES FOR 20 YEARS"

"As a community, I believe we have shown incredible patience. For years, we have shouted out the injustices done to us with common sense. We said and continue to say that there are those who are trying to drag our country into chaos through football in a planned way, just as they have done before, but there is no one to hear our voice, no one who feels shame or embarrassment! In short, we have been subjected to abnormalities and injustices for 20 years that have not been experienced, will not be experienced, and would not be allowed to be experienced in any other country in the world. Not reacting to this situation is contrary to the natural flow of life. That is why we are here today."

"ORGANIZED AND PLANNED!"

"I want to touch upon what we experienced in the Trabzonspor match. This was the final straw. What happened after the match took place in an organized and planned manner. This is not just limited to events that occur in any football match."

TURNED A BLIND EYE 

"I am saying this clearly and plainly: this situation was ignored and permitted. We think this because the governor's office and the police department failed to provide the necessary security for a match that was clearly going to be tense. Today, we are at a general assembly meeting, and the Istanbul Police Department has taken much better security measures!"

"MASKED FANS WERE OVERLOOKED"

"The security failure in Trabzon is not a matter to be taken lightly in any way. Will our state hold the public officials who failed to perform their duties accountable? We will follow up on whether our Ministry of Interior will conduct the necessary investigations. No body searches were performed on the fans coming to the match. Passolig was opened to all team fans. Somehow, masked fans were overlooked. You can attribute many qualities to the people of the Black Sea, one of which is being brave. A brave person does not wear a mask in the stands. One of them already jumped onto the pitch."

"Hundreds of people entered the pitch to attack our players, and while 12 people were arrested, only 5 are currently in custody. However, in contrast, our players and staff who acted in self-defense have been referred to the disciplinary board. The Trabzonspor match is often tense, but more objects were thrown onto the pitch in this match than we have ever seen before. The tension increased every minute. While we were seeing this from Istanbul and telling our coach, 'You can pull the team off the pitch whenever you want,' the Trabzon police could not intervene in a match happening right under their noses."

"We have been in contact with international parties since this match. Why are we in contact? Because we knew what was going to happen to us. Observers, even foreign observers, gave the referee a full score. The expert observers we are in contact with say, 'If this happened in Europe, the referee's license would be revoked,' but the one brought by the TFF gave almost a full score!"

"We have also taken note of our rivals who have only one priority: trying to get our players punished. However, there is one. If there were a human version of the words in the dictionary, this would be the human version of a lie. Along with a crime machine, this rude person shamelessly goes on TV. Regarding the events in Trabzon, he just says 'It shouldn't have happened,' and then spends 15 minutes trying to give messages between the lines with his half-wit, explaining how our players should be punished. You have buried yourself in lies with the contracts you made and the information you provided to your massive community, but let's see how far it goes. Fenerbahçe has taken note of you, too. You may be popular in your community, but think of us every night when you go to bed. Especially after my presidency ends."

FROM ALİ KOÇ TO ERDEN TİMUR 

"There is a rival of ours who, if there were human versions of the words in the dictionary, would be the human version of a lie. Along with a crime machine... This rude person shamelessly goes on television. He just says 'It shouldn't have happened' regarding the events that took place, and with his half-wit, he tries to give messages between the lines about how our players should be punished. Fenerbahçe has taken note of you, too. You might be popular for 3-5 days because of what you said, but think of us every night when you go to bed. Especially after my presidency ends..."

"WITHDRAWING FROM THE LEAGUE SHOULD BE THE LAST STEP"

"While our championship chances continue, let us fight tirelessly until the end and not leave the field empty; let us play the remaining matches in the league with the youth team. Let us re-evaluate withdrawing from the league at the end of the season. Withdrawing from the league would mean throwing away all the efforts of this season. Let us take the most decisive steps, let us withdraw from the league. Conversely, there is another view: let us take the most decisive steps, but if withdrawal from the league is to be included, it should be the very last step."

WE ARE NOT CONSIDERING SUSPENDING FOOTBALL ACTIVITIES

"This view weighed heavily: let us withdraw from the league, let us freeze activities. There were those who said we would continue to experience similar problems. There was a view to continue in the league with the youth team and play in the Super Cup and Europe with the A-team. Now, our view regarding this matter is that we are not currently considering suspending football activities at all."

"SUSPENDING MEANS THE AMATEUR LEAGUE"

 "We need to be prepared for this. We need to be prepared in the area where we will continue our activities. If the injustice here continues, there is a view that we should have a foothold abroad. However, suspending it means starting from the amateur league when we are ready again. We can overcome this to some extent. We could merge with a club in the Süper Lig. But these need to be thought through to the finest detail. We are not bringing this issue to our agenda regarding a proper international restructuring."

Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç announced that they have shelved the decision to withdraw from the league until the general assembly 3 months from now.

SUPER CUP

"I said, 'Do not make travel plans to Urfa or buy tickets until the evening of April 2.' I am finally at the night of April 2. I am making the same call again. Do not make travel plans to Urfa, do not reserve Super Cup tickets."

"We have two options: one is not to show up for the Super Cup match at all, and the other is to show up with the U19 team. In our discussions, it was said that if a radical decision is to be made, it should start with the Super Cup. I, along with my colleagues, agree with this to the end. I agree for principled reasons. You talk about the country's coefficient, patriotism, and national pride, you say 'well done,' and then you say, 'your opponent did not accept.'"

"We must make a decision: either not to show up for the Super Cup match at all or to show up with the U19 team. If you do not show up for the Super Cup, you cannot participate in the Turkish Cup and the Super Cup. There is a 1-3 year ban from the profession for executives; they won't let us go now that they have caught us. We don't know if there is a very large financial cost. We know there is no revenue. We have to cover the expenses incurred for the entire organization."

"Not participating in the Turkish Cup next year is the third option we will ask you about. We are considering not participating in the Turkish Cup for at least 2 seasons."

"The Turkish Cup is a total loss. There is a new format next season; let them do that format without Fenerbahçe."

"There is an option not to go to Trabzon until the unsolved incident is resolved. This is an option that makes sense to us. It affects not just 3, but 6 points. It is suggested that we go there with the U19 team for a while. We will look into that when the time comes."

Finally, Fenerbahçe has never had any connection with politics, and it never will. I want to address our state and our politicians once again. We repeat once more: our country is being dragged into chaos through Fenerbahçe. I wish for the decisions we make this evening to be beneficial. Thank you, long live."

Following Koç's speech, Dündar took the floor and reiterated that withdrawing from the league was not on the agenda. 

Acun Ilıcalı: I DO NOT TRUST TURKISH REFEREES 

Acun Ilıcalı, who took the floor, expressed the following:

"Just as judges ensure justice in a country, referees ensure justice in the sports world. Our referees have shown us with their own hands that they cannot do this. That day, provocateurs jumped onto the pitch and carried out a brutal attack on our team. If there had been a referee institution there, it could have provided us with the right not to be in that environment. There is smoke coming from the pitch, there is a foul in the calculation at that moment, and then we concede a goal. Can a referee put the lives of footballers in danger? Referee errors can happen in every match. I am telling you the point that Turkish refereeing has reached. The referee says, 'I don't know what state of mind I was in.' I ask you: will the fate of huge clubs depend on the state of mind of a referee? Will the state of mind of a referee determine the Turkish league?" 

If a referee says a position is not a penalty when looking at the monitor, I would say there is ill intent here, there is something going on, something is happening. From this minute on, I do not trust Turkish referees. And I will never trust them. Who is to blame for all the incidents that happen to us? One of the guys is waking up, another is fainting. Wouldn't you make the guy wait outside for a while? The man rolling on the ground scores a goal against us a little later. I want the foreign referee application to start urgently and to be supported to the end. I do not accept our rights being violated. A referee's state of mind cannot make millions of people unhappy. Where there is no justice, there is chaos. There is currently no justice in football in Turkey."

Later, Dündar read the board of directors' 4-point motion. The decision motion was accepted.

The motion included the following items:

1-Not to play in the 2023 Super Cup match or to participate with the U19 football team if it is not postponed to a suitable date and if a foreign referee is not appointed,

2-Not to participate in the Turkish Cup for the next 2 seasons starting from next season, or to participate in the cup with the U19 team for the next 2 years,

3-To determine and implement the necessary roadmap regarding international restructuring,

4-To apply to the relevant boards of UEFA and FIFA for the necessary actions to be taken regarding the unsustainable point that Turkish football has reached due to interventions by parties other than football stakeholders.

To be updated... 

News Source: 12punto