Referee statement from TFF: Transitioning to a system where clubs are involved and in control

Turkish Football Federation President İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu met with members of the Süper Lig Clubs Association Foundation and the 1st League Football Clubs Association at the TFF Riva Hasan Doğan National Teams Camp and Training Facilities. Following the meeting, TFF Central Referee Board Chairman Ferhat Gündoğdu made statements to the press.

Stating that they held a very important meeting at the Turkish Football Federation headquarters with the board of directors and the presidents and members of the Clubs Association's Süper Lig and 1st League foundations, Gündoğdu said, "In our first meeting at the beginning of August when we took office, the Clubs Association had a request from us regarding a topic carried over from previous years. It was about the restructuring of the Central Referee Board and the management of the refereeing system under a company name.

We promised them at that time, as the Football Federation management and the Central Referee Board, that we looked favorably upon this and that after working sufficiently on this subject, we would report our thoughts and studies to them and bring our proposals. Since that time, we have conducted a number of examinations, primarily on the English and German models, and the practices in Spain and Portugal—not under the name of corporatization there, but under the name of this Central Referee Board restructuring. We encountered good examples regarding the management of the refereeing system in a more modern, more systematic, and more professional manner through a corporatization model. We presented this to our Turkish Football Federation management.

If we implement such a system, 'How should we proceed and what kind of restructuring should we go through?' We reported this and presented it to our Clubs Association. First of all, I want to state that I am only talking about the management of the Süper Lig and the 1st League regarding the establishment of a company and the management of the refereeing system under this company name. Because the system envisions this. To carry out this management under a company name, a number of status changes and legal legislative changes are required. Therefore, it is foreseen that the most accurate timing, the timing most suitable for the system, could be at the end of the year. While waiting for this period, we worked a bit on how we could gain experience with such an approach and how we could develop its rights and wrongs during this period, and we named this a transformation process.

We structured the Süper Lig and 1st League refereeing system with a board called an Advisory Board for the transformation process. How does it work? It envisions that the Central Referee Board, just as it currently manages the Süper Lig and 1st League refereeing system, will manage it with the authority of this Advisory Board. How is this advisory board formed?

In other countries, these 3 board members are people appointed by the Turkish Football Federation or the relevant federation, and 2 people are appointed by the Clubs Association. The logic here is for the clubs to take part in the management of the refereeing system. It envisions them taking part as an official within this management," he said.

"THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT TURNING POINT FOR THE REFEREEING SYSTEM"

Explaining why such a thing is needed, Chairman Gündoğdu said, "Since refereeing is seen as the most important issue of football at the center of today's debates, and because there are significant criticisms regarding the refereeing system, and because the clubs and the fans of the clubs are the ones receiving the greatest service from refereeing, the presence of clubs within this refereeing system is actually seen as a necessity of the nature of this business. Our Football Federation President had already said when he took office that the owners of this business are the clubs and that we are serving in this regard. Since it came with this logic, it was very easy for the board of directors to internalize this, both in terms of management and in terms of the Central Referee Board.

If the Advisory Board becomes operational and these board members are appointed, the Advisory Board will handle every issue concerning the Süper Lig and 1st League, including appointments, performance management, public information, and training systems, from the 19th week, 20th week, or whenever it is decided. It envisions the system being run by two CEO professionals: a CEO who carries out the technical work of the refereeing system—the position I currently hold, which is the Chairmanship of the Central Referee Board—and a CEO who carries out corporate affairs. The Advisory Board can make all strategic decisions in this system. It has the authority to make all kinds of decisions concerning the refereeing system, including those related to appointments and training. Our federation president's approach was to suggest, 'You can appoint all 5 members; there is no need for us to determine the 3 people who are our right; be completely involved, you can appoint all of them.'

Today, when the Clubs Association saw the duties of the Advisory Board, its tasks during this transition process, the work it will do, and the logic, openness, and transparency with which we want or propose this, their approach was very positive, and they accepted this Advisory Board process. As the president declared in the coming days, they will notify the federation of the 3 advisory board members next week as soon as possible. The Turkish Football Federation Board of Directors will also appoint 2 members, and the Advisory Board will begin its activities from the determined week. This is a very important turning point for the refereeing system.

We are moving to a system where clubs are involved, and people determined by the clubs oversee and manage it. Therefore, it is not a one-way management, but a two-way management style, and the refereeing system is entering a transition phase for more questionable, more transparent, and more professional management. That is why today's meeting was very important. The Clubs Association also approached this very warmly, positively, and said they accepted it.

Starting from next week, this will begin, and at the end of the year, in line with the reports that the CEOs will give to the Advisory Board every month, and in line with the report to be presented to the Turkish Football Federation Board of Directors and the Clubs Association Foundation Board of Directors when we reach June, a decision will be made as a result of the experience gained during this transition process, and the issue of whether or not to actually switch to corporatization will be a matter for those days. I think we will have made very good use of this opportunity in the next 4.5-5 month period and will have gained an important transition process," he said.

"THE FOREIGN VAR ISSUE WAS NOT DISCUSSED"

When asked whether the issue of foreign VAR was discussed at the meeting, Ferhat Gündoğdu replied, "The framework of the meeting was entirely about the evaluation of this advisory board and the processes related to a possible later corporatization. Therefore, no other topic was discussed, but it was conveyed that all kinds of strategic decisions regarding foreign VAR or appointments, or the system, would be under the authority and agenda of the Advisory Board and that they would make the decisions."

Regarding the question of how this system will affect referees, Gündoğdu said, "Since referees will only perform their refereeing duties, not much changes for them, but we have informed them from time to time in the seminars we have held on this subject. It is not a matter of being this detailed. Because this was a study we were conducting in one place. We are sharing it with you now without presenting all the details to the management and without it being clarified. Until then, some issues needed to remain private, but our referees know the general draft," he said.

News Source: İHA