Okan Buruk reacts to 'poor officiating' by match referee

Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk stated that the officiating by Union Saint-Gilloise match referee Jose Maria Sanchez was very poor, saying, "The player who should have been shown a red card by the referee scored the goal. I can say that the Spanish referee managed the match very poorly. I do not want to attribute this defeat solely to the referee or our missing players."

Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk said that they should not attribute their 1-0 loss to the visiting Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise in the 5th week of the UEFA Champions League to their missing players or the referee's decisions.

Congratulating the Belgian side for leaving Istanbul with a victory, Buruk said, "First of all, I congratulate our opponent. They defended well. They were already a team with high defensive strength. After the goal they found in the second half, they strengthened their defense even more. Looking at it from our perspective, we could have started the game better and been more productive in the first half."

We made very hasty decisions and sped up the game. Before the match, I asked my players to stay calm and not to increase the tempo. In the first half, we passed to players under heavy pressure, played long balls, and were impatient. We corrected this in the second half and were calmer. We had started to go towards the opponent's goal more. The saddest part is that we had 9 players in the penalty area when we conceded the goal. Everyone focused only on the ball and ran to the space rather than the opponent. We strengthened our opponent further with the goal we conceded," he said.

"I HOPE UEFA WILL PENALIZE IT"

Criticizing the management of the match by Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez, the experienced manager claimed that Union Saint-Gilloise player Promise David should have been shown a red card in the 51st minute, stating, "The red card the referee did not give is a very important mistake. The player who should have been sent off scored the goal. Apart from that, he stopped the game 4-5 times when there was no dangerous injury."

Refereeing in Spain is often a topic of discussion. This evening, the Spanish referee managed a very poor match. I do not want to attribute this defeat only to the referee and our absences. We could have done better with this starting eleven. We will review our own mistakes, but it must be said that the referee made a very critical and major error. As a result of this error, the player the referee did not show a red card to scored the goal. I hope that UEFA will penalize such a major mistake," he expressed.

"THE MOST CRITICAL ABSENCE FOR ME WAS EREN"

The manager of the yellow-red team stated that among the 8 players missing from the squad, the most critical name was Eren Elmalı.

Addressing criticism regarding squad planning following a series of injuries, Buruk noted the following:

"We had six players in midfield. Having players in the same position get injured is a difficult situation for us. However, this is not something you can calculate. We were without a very critical player like Yunus. The absence of Osimhen, Singo, and Lemina is very significant, but Yunus is also the type of player who can unlock such opponents.

They had done this with Osimhen in the Bodo/Glimt match. The absence of Yunus and our other key players who can break down defensive teams made things difficult for us in terms of productivity today. We send players to the national team. You pay their salaries, but national teams use the players more recklessly. This is one of the factors that puts a strain on clubs. The national team is very important, and I respect that. Every player tries to give 100 percent for their national team. However, the injuries upon their return have made our job difficult."

"OUR GOALS REMAIN THE SAME"

Okan Buruk mentioned that the most significant absence was Eren Elmalı, stating, "For me, the most critical absence was Eren. (Regarding the betting investigation) I respect it, but was it the right timing? Because of this, we were one player short in the Champions League. The fact that Eren could not play in a Champions League match due to a minor mistake he made 5 years ago was also critical for Turkish football. It wasn't just injuries; we experienced this kind of misfortune as well.

One of our most critical positions is left-back. But these things are part of football. We have to compensate for this during the mid-season break. Before that, we will play 3 more matches in the Champions League. We currently have 9 points. Our goals remain the same. We will do our best to win the upcoming matches. Hopefully, we will take the field with a full squad for these games," he expressed.

Buruk, who did not receive the expected contribution from the bench, assessed the situation by saying, "Bringing players off the bench, influencing the match, and fixing what isn't going well is very important. Today, I could only do this after an injury. That made it difficult for me. Don't think of this as the coach making excuses. Our squad today could have done better. We need to reflect on this and analyze it internally."

"OSIMHEN, YUNUS, AND LEMINA MAY BE READY FOR THE DERBY"

Regarding the players likely to be fit for the match against Fenerbahçe on the road on Monday, December 1, in the 14th week of the Süper Lig, Buruk said, "There is a 6-day period until the Fenerbahçe derby. We will try to get Lemina, Osimhen, and Yunus ready for the derby."

When reminded that the Africa Cup of Nations will begin in late December, Buruk said, "We are just about to get the players healthy and start playing them, and then they will go to the Africa Cup. This is another challenge for us. Four of our players could participate in the Africa Cup. Most likely, they will not be available against Kasımpaşa in the last match of the first half. We think they will be back in time for the European matches. It will be difficult for us to have four players leave," he said.

"WHAT YUSUF NEEDS TO DO IS WORK HARDER"

When asked about the situation of Yusuf Demir, who was not included in the squad, the experienced coach said, "Yusuf said he had pain in his knee after the last match. He did not come to training the next day. His checks are being done. I did not include him in the squad because he did not train due to his pain. There is no administrative issue, and nothing else happened. He was also feeling a bit down. Kazımcan kept himself ready and worked very hard. What Yusuf needs to do is work harder and wait for his chance to play," he concluded.

News Source: 12punto