Fenerbahçe slams Turkish refereeing and calls for foreign referees
The Portuguese coach’s team released a statement on social media demanding a drastic and immediate change in the Turkish championship
Close to finishing the first half of the championship in Turkey, Fenerbahçe , led by José Mourinho, is in second place and is eight points behind the isolated leader, Galatasaray , who is closer to becoming a three-time champion
Faced with this situation, the Portuguese coach’s team released a statement this Monday, harshly criticizing the refereeing teams and calling for a drastic and immediate change in Turkish football: the reinstatement of foreign referees.
The Turkish club said that “referees are openly interfering in the results” of their team, and that the opposite is happening with their title rivals, explaining that “Turkish football is being systematically massacred” through VAR.
Fenerbahçe also gave the example of the last game, in which they drew 1-1 at Eyupspor, when the opponent should have seen several cards, including a red, and two penalties should not have been reversed in their favor
The statement in full:
“ENOUGH INJUSTICE! WE WANT A SOLUTION!
From the 17th week of the Super League onwards, it is now undeniable that referees are openly interfering in games and results. This season, which began with talk of ‘fairness in football’, has turned into a shameful theatre with scandalous decisions by referees, especially in our team’s games.
Despite the efforts of the Turkish Football Federation and the outrage of teams suffering from injustice, Turkish football is being systematically massacred, especially through VAR referees. So much so that the mistakes made are systematically in favor of one team and that team gains a clear advantage on the road to the championship.
With the cards that were not given in our team’s Eyupspor game, our opponent was guaranteed to complete the game with 11; the VAR overturned 2 clear and indisputable penalties that were not given to our team.
Turkish football cannot be sacrificed by these systematic attacks and decline, which cannot be described as blatant mistakes. As Fenerbahçe we do not accept this disgrace; we demand justice, we demand the immediate reinstatement of the foreign referees.»
