Aziz Yıldırım attacks refereeing after derby defeat: “No one can stop me”

Aziz Yıldırım accepted that Fenerbahçe had played badly in its 2-1 defeat by Beşiktaş. He nevertheless left the derby focused on two penalty appeals he believed referees had ignored.

“We played badly, we did not play well. We congratulate Beşiktaş, but once again two penalties were not given,” Yıldırım said after the match. He pointed to an incident involving Oğuz in the fifth minute, when he said a defender used his hand to control the ball, and to a challenge on Kerem that he described as a trip.

“

We played badly, we did not play well. We congratulate Beşiktaş, but once again two penalties were not given.

Yıldırım said Fenerbahçe had stayed silent through earlier refereeing decisions in matches against Gençlerbirliği, Konyaspor and Samsunspor, expecting the problems to improve. Instead, he said, the same mistakes continued. He also criticized VAR for failing to intervene and rejected the idea that simply bringing in foreign referees would solve the problem.

“

If I start talking, no one can stop me.

The Fenerbahçe president warned that he could speak even more forcefully and said no one could stop him. He argued that a referee who had been beaten by a club president should not continue officiating, adding that the incident had left the official psychologically damaged. He said Turkish football could not continue in this way.

Yıldırım apologized to Fenerbahçe supporters for the team’s performance but said the club had been unfairly treated. He called on the refereeing board and football federation to find a solution, even suggesting that Turkey’s leagues could be postponed for a year to train new referees. “Turkish football deserves better,” he said.

“

Turkish football deserves better.