Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç made important statements at Samandıra Can Bartu Facilities after the derby match in which they defeated Galatasaray. While emphasizing the importance of the victory, Koç expressed his reaction to the opponents and referee decisions with harsh expressions.
“We prevented the championship celebrations”
Ali Koç stated that the victory was not just a derby victory and said, “We prevented them from celebrating the championship on their own field, we broke their undefeated streak. Today we showed to the dishonorable, undignified, thieves and scoundrels who the real champion is.” He stated that this win was a great source of morale for the Fenerbahçe community and that they carried hope into the last week.
“Our team fought heroically”
Emphasizing that his team showed great character despite playing with 10 men for 81 minutes, Koç said, “Our team fought heroically. They fought and showed character. In this atmosphere, despite this referee, they won 1-0 and helped us carry our hopes to the last week.”
“We could not beat the system”
The Fenerbahçe President reiterated his criticism of referee decisions and the football system throughout the season, saying, “We actually beat everyone, we won 4 out of 6 derbies. But we couldn’t beat the system. I’m telling the fans that we are almost there, we are almost close to destroying the system. This system cannot go on like this.”
“Why do we want foreign referees?”
Expressing the reasons for the demand for a foreign referee in the Super Cup final, Koç said, “This match registered why we want a foreign referee for the Super Cup. The reason why we shouted for foreign referees throughout the season was seen in this 90 minutes.”
Reply to Dursun Özbek
Responding to Galatasaray President Dursun Özbek’s statements against him, Ali Koç said, “Is Dursun Özbek calling me to a duel? We have been calling for a duel in front of televisions for two years. It’s not a duel, let’s discuss. Let people see the identity and personality of both presidents. What cheap bullying. Let’s go out tomorrow if he wants,” he challenged.
Koç also harshly criticized the referee’s decisions in the match. “Look at the last 60-80 fouls, the total number of yellow cards, red cards. There is an extraordinary table. We had 10 fouls, 6 yellows, 1 red card. Our opponent 18 fouls, 4 yellow cards. They haven’t seen a yellow card for weeks. Until our match, they didn’t even have a yellow card for their last 60 fouls.”
Fenerbahçe Board Member Selahattin Baki also made statements about what happened after the derby. Baki said that the post-match discussions were exaggerated and reiterated his criticism of the referee’s decisions. “We will not forget the referee just because we won the match. We defeated Galatasaray, Fenerbahce’s enemies and the referees.”
Fenerbahçe’s victory over Galatasaray was not only a derby victory, but also brought criticism of the system in Turkish football. Ali Koç’s statements revealed his team’s fighting spirit and criticism of refereeing decisions. The win not only extended Fenerbahçe’s championship hopes into the last week, but also resonated widely in the football public opinion.
