Galatasaray has reacted to the VAR referee appointment ahead of the match to be played against Gençlerbirliği. In a statement made on its social media account, the yellow-red club shared its objection regarding Erkan Engin, who was assigned as the VAR referee, with the public.
LET'S REFRESH THE PUBLIC'S MEMORY! https://t.co/6eFA8bpEtT
— Galatasaray SK (@GalatasaraySK) October 17, 2026
In the statement made by the club, it was emphasized that the match and the refereeing would be followed carefully. Galatasaray announced that it would hold the Turkish Football Federation responsible for any referee errors that might occur during the match.
Galatasaray's statement is as follows:
"LET'S REFRESH THE PUBLIC'S MEMORY!
We would like to remind the public which decisions Erkan Engin, who was appointed as the VAR referee for the match we will play against Gençlerbirliği today, has signed his name to in the past and in which matches he has been assigned recently.
Erkan Engin:
- Is the referee who, in the 2023-2024 season during the Fenerbahçe-Kasımpaşa match, listened to his "feelings" and played a role in the awarding of a penalty in favor of Fenerbahçe by inviting referee Cihan Aydın to the monitor with a controversial VAR intervention.
- Is the referee who ensured a penalty was awarded in favor of Fenerbahçe as a result of another controversial VAR intervention in last season's Fenerbahçe-Karagümrük match.
- Is the referee who, in the Trabzonspor-Galatasaray match, invited referee Cihan Aydın to the monitor with an erroneous decision regarding the position of Barış Alper Yılmaz, but was the owner of the VAR intervention where the referee did not change his decision.
Now, let's look at Erkan Engin's assignments this season:
- With this match, he will serve as a VAR referee in the Süper Lig for the seventh time.
- He has been assigned to the VAR room for Gençlerbirliği's home match for the 3rd time this season. (2 VAR, 1 AVAR)
- He served as AVAR in Gençlerbirliği's home match last week.
- Thus, he has been appointed to the VAR room for the same team's 2 consecutive home matches.
In light of this information, we inform the public that we will follow the match and the refereeing carefully, and that we see the Turkish Football Federation as responsible for any kind of referee error that may occur.
Galatasaray Sports Club"
News Source: 12punto
