Sergen Yalçın: I think what happened is a disaster

In the 25th week of the Trendyol Super League, Beşiktaş lost 1-0 at home to Galatasaray. Beşiktaş manager Sergen Yalçın made statements at the press conference held after the match.

Starting his remarks by congratulating Galatasaray, Yalçın said, "The first part of the game did not go well. We didn't play well in the first half, and the opponent didn't play well either. It was balanced. There was one red card incident. Other than that, there wasn't anything very glaring. We started the second half well and took control. The opponent received a red card. Then we played a more dominant game. We had chances, we could have saved the game, but whether it was bad luck or lack of skill... We suffered a defeat; losing the derby at home saddens us. Our players were also saddened. There is also a luck factor. One side wins, we are sad. We will look to what comes next," he stated.

"Is there any referee in the world who wouldn't give a red card for Sane's challenge?"

Sergen Yalçın also criticized referee Ozan Ergün and the VAR management. Arguing that Leroy Sane should have received a red card in the 20th minute of the match, the experienced manager said, "I don't want to attribute our loss to the referee factor. There is an incident involving Sane in the 20th minute of the match. Is there any referee in the world who wouldn't give a red card for this? The challenge he made on Rıdvan in the second half is 50 percent lighter than the one in the first half. The referee didn't see the incident and let it go with a yellow card. The player even thanked him for the yellow card. The guys in the VAR are never there anyway, but they are there for Bilal's incident in Trabzon and in the Fenerbahçe match. There shouldn't be a need for such things. There is a second yellow card incident for Osimhen. It's not us saying this, the rules say it. Orkun received a yellow card because of the rules. But our players are telling the referee that he should receive a yellow card according to the rules; the referee doesn't even look at the incident. There isn't much to talk about. Even if the opponent had been sent off in 20 minutes, maybe we still wouldn't have won. The referees and the guys in the VAR are here to enforce the rules. It's not sad for us. We are already not in the league race due to our position. But it is a big problem for the future of Turkish football. We, as the Beşiktaş community, are saddened. I think what happened is a disaster. This is not normal; this is a game played according to rules. But when the rules are one thing for me and another for the other side, dual dialogues emerge. You leave me with 10 men in Trabzon, and I lose a game I was going to win. Are there no rules in this match? It won't work with such amateur referees. Unfortunately, the state of Turkish football is not very healthy," he said.

When a member of the press said, 'Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk was also complaining about the referees,' Yalçın replied, "They have been champions for 3 years, are they complaining about the referee?"

"Galatasaray is a more settled team than us"

Emphasizing that Galatasaray is a more settled team with a wider squad compared to them, the 53-year-old manager said, "We have just gone through a transfer process. We are a community in a new restructuring period. I am trying to do this in the most correct way. This will take time. It looks like we will recover slowly. It is a fact that we will build a more settled squad with the new setup we will make at the end of the season. The Galatasaray team has been playing together for 3-4 years. They are playing tough matches in the Champions League. They are more accustomed to these difficult matches. I also wish Galatasaray success in the Champions League," he said.

"Today's match is a huge scandal in terms of refereeing"

Sergen Yalçın also touched upon the fact that the opposing team made moves to waste time in the final part of the match. Stating that he finds this normal, Yalçın expressed that he does not find the referee's failure to enforce the rules normal, saying, "We couldn't settle into the game in the first half. When they pressed us in the central midfield, we couldn't build play. But we started the second half well. We had the mentality of playing further up the pitch and pinning the game in the opponent's half. We talked about this with the players. When we look at the total of the game, most of the match passed under our superiority. We played one-way traffic in the second half. In the final part, the opponent didn't get up off the ground anyway. There were players constantly trying to waste time. They were left with 10 men, naturally, they planned to waste time and finish the match. I understand this, it's normal, but I don't find it normal that the referee doesn't enforce the rules. You enforce it on me in Bilal's incident, in Orkun's incident, but you don't enforce it here. If you put television into football this much, the guys in the VAR can affect the fate of the match. Give whatever you see. Today's match is a huge scandal in terms of refereeing. Sane's challenge in the 20th minute would be a red card even if you played in space. I'm not saying we lost the match because of this, the kids are playing a 100-minute match. 5-6 of them are fasting. I'm not playing for the championship anyway, but why are you affecting my future? Everyone should do their job in the most correct way," he said.

"The match referee was appointed at the last minute"

Emphasizing that he knows the derby referee Ozan Ergün was appointed to the match at the last minute, the black-and-white manager said, "An inexperienced referee being assigned to such a derby... We are the ones complaining about referee errors, we are the ones losing matches. For some reason, the opponent never loses. In the Samsun match, VAR called, saying 'give a penalty.' The referee watches and says 'there is no penalty.' There is no precedent for this. In the Kayserispor match, there is a hand contact, they don't intervene. We say our goal for next year is the championship, how are we going to play like this? Then they say the coach spoke, let's punish him. Galatasaray can always beat us, but you enforce the rules, don't interfere with whoever wins. We have been hurt," he included.

News Source: 12punto