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Turkish Football: Leadership Changes, Controversial Matches, and Rising Tensions

As of December 12, 2024, we would not be mistaken if we were to say that the last few weeks have been challenging for the whole of Turkish football. With the problems both in and out of the field, fans are questioning the quality and the state of the Turkish Super League. By going through some of the key events that took place in these weeks, we will be able to identify the core problems of the sports industry.


Hasan Arat's Resignation

The president of Beşiktaş, one of the biggest football clubs of Türkiye and a team that participates in the European League on behalf of the Super League of Türkiye, Hasan Arat resigned from his position on November 27. Arat's departure raised concerns about the club's future direction, since even before his resignation the state Beşiktaş was in both of the leagues that its gameplay was not going positive, despite having popular and successful players such as Ciro Immobile, Rafa Silva etc. Fans were concerned that the state of the team would worsen position; and they were especially concerned about the upcoming critical matches such as the Tel Aviv match and the derby with Fenerbahçe. Even though they were not able to win the match against Tel Aviv in the European League; Beşiktaş was able to gain 3 points after its victory against Fenerbahçe.



After his resignation, it was learnt that Beşiktaş, as a club, was experiencing monetary hardships as well, such as in paying the salaries of the players and other employees. Therefore, this led supporters to question the status-quo of the team, the executives and the players, and to have concerns regarding the future successes.


Galatasaray-Eyüpspor Match

The match between Galatasaray and Eyüpspor took place on December 1, at Rams Park. When looking to the 2-2 score of the match, it is possible to say that the outcome was unexpected since Galatasaray was the team with the most victories this season, and as a result, the leader of the league. Galatasaray today has 38 points in total with 12 victories and 2 draws, followed by Fenerbahçe with 32 points.

Abdülkerim Bardakçı and Victor Osimhen

Regardless of the expectations for the result of the match, the criticism toward the referee Oğuzhan Çakır was harsh as fans believed that he was not able to control the match objectively and was making decisions in favor of Eyüpspor; however, some fans of other teams than Galatasaray were saying that the decisions were made right. Some critical positions of the match between the players of the teams resulted in many yellow cards for the players of both teams.


It is not possible to determine whether the referee Çakır made the right decision all the time or whether he was under the pressure of the atmosphere while making the decisions. Yet, it is safe to say that the decisions led to great chaos among Galatasaray fans.


Beşiktaş-Fenerbahçe Derby

The match played on December 7 ended with Beşiktaş’s victory with a 1-0 score and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the player who scored the goal. The rivalry between the two teams has been going on for nearly a century, with their first match together being played in November 1924, and once again this derby match was criticized heavily because of the referee Mehmet Türkmen's decisions. Fans suggested that Türkmen was making all the decisions in favor of Fenerbahçe, especially several positions in the match that were critical. For instance, a position between Allan Saint-Maximin (Fenerbahçe) and Jonas Svensson (Beşiktaş) was believed to require a yellow card, since the position involved Saint-Maximin pushing Svensson. However, some commentators stated that the decision of the referee was right and in the way that it should be; the decision continues to be a part of the debates regarding the derby. Another controversial point was mostly made about the player of Fenerbahçe, Djiku. He was criticized for playing too aggressively and yet, not getting the enough penalty that he deserves.


We could say that the match’s chaotic atmosphere, despite being a derby match, became even more tense with these decisions of the referee. Beşiktaş fans are saying that they were able to win even though the referee was against them, while the supporters of Fenerbahçe suggest that the referee made the right choices.

Sivasspor-Galatasaray Match

The match was played on December 8, in Sivas and we would not be mistaken to say that this match was the match in which most football fans suggested that the referee Turgut Doman made inappropriate decisions, especially in some key positions. The match was chaotic, in the first place, with a lot of players of both teams receiving cards and getting injured throughout the match. In the first half, 3 players from Sivasspor received yellow cards and 1 player from Galatasaray received a red card; a goal was scored on 25’ by Sivasspor and on 36’ and 45+9’ by Galatasaray. In the second half, 5 more players from the 10-player Galatasaray and 2 more players from Sivasspor received a yellow card, another goal was scored on 53’ by Galatasaray. However, as the match approached its end, a position between Rey Manaj and Barış Alper Yılmaz resulted in Yılmaz being carried out of the field on a stretcher. The referee’s decision was a yellow card to Manaj, but he still went to check the VAR and stayed consistent with his decision. This resulted in aggression among the fans, suggesting that this position was certainly a red card.


It is safe to say that Turkish football has been experiencing a tough couple of weeks. We hope that these problems do not last long and football can continue to be a place where competitive sporty activities can be shown, not aggression.


Edited by: Yağmur Ece Nisanoğlu, Ömer Gökçe

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