February winners of the TFF Fair Play Awards announced: Who was named the most gentlemanly player?

According to the statement made by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), the TFF Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee, chaired by Ali Erten and consisting of Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sait Gönen, Prof. Dr. Burhanettin Hacıcaferoğlu, Prof. Dr. Fatma Ayanoğlu, Banu Yelkovan, Attila Gökçe, Ömer Üründül, Berrin Altınöz, and Metin Tekin, has completed its evaluations for February.

As a result of the evaluations made by the committee members, the individuals deemed worthy of the award in the "Most Gentlemanly Player" and "Most Gentlemanly Coach" categories, along with the justifications, were stated as follows:

MOST GENTLEMANLY PLAYER: OLIMPIU MORUTAN

Justification: During the MKE Ankaragücü - Galatasaray match played on February 18, 2024, MKE Ankaragücü player Olimpiu Morutan, who at a moment when play was stopped, took the risk of injury to himself to block a water bottle thrown from the yellow-navy stands at his opponent, thereby saving his Galatasaray colleague Berkan Kutlu from a potential injury, has been deemed worthy of the February 2024 Most Gentlemanly Player award for this exemplary behavior that aligns with Fair Play values.

MOST GENTLEMANLY COACH: ABDULLAH AVCI

Justification: Trabzonspor Coach Abdullah Avcı has been deemed worthy of the February 2024 Most Gentlemanly Coach award for his behavior that highlights Fair Play values through the virtue of apologizing; in his post-match statement following the 1-0 victory over Yukatel Adana Demirspor, he stated that "the referee was right regarding the yellow card he received during the match, and that he apologized for the behavior that led to him receiving the yellow card," thereby expressing his awareness of his negative action.

The statement on the TFF website also included the following regarding Barış Alper Yılmaz: "Furthermore; Galatasaray player Barış Alper Yılmaz, who warned referee Cihan Aydın, who had awarded a corner kick during the Galatasaray-RAMS Başakşehir match played in the Trendyol Super League on February 10, 2024, that the ball had gone out off him, has had this exemplary behavior, which perfectly aligns with Fair Play values, recorded as worthy of appreciation."

News Source: AA