11.03.2025 23:50
Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı made statements during a live broadcast on TV100. Ilıcalı commented on the racism discussions between them and Galatasaray, referencing Mourinho's words: "Is racism going to come out of this too? They called us monkeys, Drogba came out! There’s nothing beyond that! I warned them that day not to take it to Europe, but people mocked the Galatasaray management."
Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı made striking statements during a live broadcast on TV100. Speaking to Ersin Düzen, Ilıcalı shared noteworthy comments about his managerial experience in the yellow-navy blue team, the transfers made, and their eternal rivals Galatasaray in the championship race.
"WE UNITED AS A COMMUNITY"
Acun Ilıcalı's statements are as follows;
"We are going through a busy agenda. Although our football team started the season slowly, we are currently in a good position. We united as a community. We are excited. We want to be successful. The effort and concentration have been much more than I expected. Since it is our own choice, it would be inappropriate to complain.
"EVERYTHING CHANGED IN MY LIFE"
Everything changed in my life, my lifestyle changed. Normally, my life would have been spent in the air. This was an unexpected situation, but I am proud. My lifestyle has completely changed. I am living a new era, a difficult period. I am in a different phase.
"A PRIDE FOR ME"
Being a manager of the team I fell in love with as a child, which I attended many matches of, is a pride for me. My childhood is filled with so many Fenerbahçe memories. Now I am in the locker room of that team, I am the spokesperson, I am having transfer negotiations. These are a source of pride for me. I am very happy because of that.
"I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD BE THIS BEAUTIFUL"
I was in an environment I had never been in my life. For more than 20 years, I have been the sole decision-maker in my own business, of course, consulting. But here, I am not the sole decision-maker. This requires me to adapt to a system. I am experiencing my early days, but I didn't know I would meet such a beautiful management. There were names I knew, but there were also new people I met. We had a board meeting recently. There was a very nice atmosphere. I am having very happy days at Fenerbahçe.
"HE WAS SOMEONE WHOSE HEART BEAT FOR FENERBAHÇE"
I want to open a parenthesis here; a very valuable person for me, Mehmet Dereli, has passed away. He was someone whose heart beat for Fenerbahçe. We became close five years ago, and he fell ill with a serious disease. I will never forget his sacrifices for Fenerbahçe. I also experienced psychological damage when I lost him. We named our meeting room after him. Losing someone close is very sad. I wish peace for Mehmet again.
"EVERYONE IS FOCUSED ON THURSDAY"
We experienced disappointment; we were unlucky. A goal we conceded due to our own mistake changed the chemistry of the game. In football, you don't always get what you want. That's why I am sad. There were missed opportunities. Rangers is also an important and strong team. Once they took the advantage, they knew how to use it. It was a very bad score for us. This is part of football. There is a rematch on Thursday. I am hopeful. I trust the quality of our team. We are a good and strong team. We are stronger than Rangers. But I said that if we score an early goal in the second match, a lot will change, but our coach has another plan in mind. We talked, and Mourinho also wants to advance in the round. Fenerbahçe has been the most advanced in Europe in Turkey. I think our stability in Europe is important. We have reached a good place again. We are playing again in March. It is pride-inducing. Everyone is currently focused on Thursday."
"I WOULD SAY OUR HOPE IS LOW"
Let me explain with my own football perspective; if we lost 2-0 to an Italian team, I would say our hope is low. But this is a team from the English school. Scottish teams are not in the spirit of closing up. This could be an advantage for us. I don't think they will close up in my mind. I think that will be a chance for us.
"I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND DJIKU'S RED CARD"
His view of Turkey, I can say he fell in love with Turkey. He loves our country very much. He is happy and content, happy to be with us. Before coming, he watched the match we played against Galatasaray. He couldn't understand why Djiku was sent off. At that time, he said there was a problem with the referees. In our next conversation, he said he was surprised. We told him that the referee performances were poor and that he needed to be ready. He was very surprised; there is a reality that he watched with astonished eyes. I don't find it very unjust. There are serious question marks regarding referees in Turkish football. Other than that, he is adapting to Turkey more and more every day.
"FEW COACHES DON'T HAVE PROBLEMS WITH REFEREES"
There are few coaches who don't have problems with referees. Having problems with referees is one thing; thinking that the problem is general is another. Did Mourinho say he saw a privilege for any team in England? The fact is that there is a general problem with referees in Turkey.
"THIS IS WHAT WE CALL THE MOURINHO EFFECT"
Dzeko was our first striker; En-Nesyri came. It was thought that En-Nesyri would be the first striker. Our coach wanted to use them together once he established harmony with Dzeko. That's why he had to change the system. We changed that system, and then the team started to play better and improve its performance. That's why Mourinho is already someone who deserves respect from everyone with a sound mind, who has a trophy close to a big team; is there anyone among us who can say these trophies are coincidental? He came, looked, examined, and understood the Turkish League. He changed the tactics in Turkey.
"WE MADE ALL THE TRANSFERS WE WANTED"
I think the mid-season transfers were very good. We made all the transfers we wanted. Our fans should know well; we aimed for these, we said let these names be. I think we made a pinpoint transfer. This period paralyzed me. I must have had 30 video conferences for Talisca. It was a very difficult process. I felt the difference of Ali Koç to the fullest regarding Skriniar. The Skriniar transfer is our president's transfer. The friendship between the president of PSG and Ali Koç is another dimension; he is the president who easily organized the club in that transfer and brought it to life in no time. We completed that transfer very comfortably in 1.5-2 days.
"NAPOLI WANTED MAXIM FOR DAYS"
Diego Carlos is a very important transfer. We had actually acquired more. The Italian leader who praised Maximin, who I said was playing well, showed interest. Wasn't this player in Turkey? He received a transfer offer, and the team he joined was Napoli. The former team of Osimhen. Napoli pressured us for days and said, "Whatever you want, let's do it." They offered a serious amount. Thinking he would leave, we acquired Mimovic. Mario and Okan came to me. I told our president, and he believed it too. We completed that transfer as well. In that transfer, we turned the plane back from the road! The kid heard us and said, "What, Fenerbahçe!" That's why I am proud. He was going to another team. He said if Fenerbahçe is there, I won't go. That process went well. We made good transfers.
"WE GOT CARLOS WHEN THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH TUTA"
We talked to Tuta. His wife had just given birth. That's why he didn't want to come. But there were alternatives. Skriniar was one. There were Carlos and Tuta. When there was a problem with Tuta, we got Carlos.
CENK TOSUN TRANSFER
Yes, I can't say he is leaving; there is an offer. Cenk is a quality football player and a very good person. I think Cengiz Ünder is very successful in America.
Sadly, we had to accept it. The same situation applies to Cenk. He may be on loan until the end of the season.
"YUSUF HAS BECOME 20 MILLION EUROS"
We had a verbal discussion about Yusuf Akçiçek. After the Anderlecht match, a message came from England saying, "Today he has become 20 million." We are not considering selling him.
"THE COACH WANTED 3, WE GOT 5"
I received criticism for defending En-Nesyri. After that, our president Oğuz Aydın received the same criticisms. These are part of football, but I am very happy that we are not ashamed. Our transfers do not fit into the starting eleven. Amrabat, Oğuz Aydın, Kostic. We made very good transfers. Even the least liked Maxim was wanted by Napoli. The same will happen in winter. Our coach wanted 3, we got 5. Our coach also wants this because he thinks about the club. Talisca did not participate in the camp at the beginning of the season. He hadn't played 1-1.5 either. We have high hopes for Talisca.
JOSE MOURINHO'S REFERRAL TO PFDK
Honestly, I didn't understand this last referral at all. A sentence he used in English may have changed due to a translation error. He is narrating an incident that happened to him. He is telling about an incident he experienced in Turkey to the foreign press. I am confused as to why he was referred for this.
"BARIS ALPER RETURNED TO THE FIELD A DAY LATER"
After the derby, I had also connected to the broadcast. I have to say some things. Mr. Eray spoke about me, and I have to respond to them. If they had said, "Mourinho made a rude remark, this should not be said, it was inappropriate," there would be a valid point. But the Galatasaray side is trying to escalate the situation. Then it doesn't work! I felt very sorry for Barış Alper. I am waiting for news. A Galatasaray commentator said that Manaj should be sent out of the country. Yunus said we are all crying inside, he said he might not be able to play by the end of the season. Barış Alper returned to the field a week later. The incident is already bad; there is no need for you to escalate it. Then it doesn't work.
RACISM DEBATE
When Mourinho said, "He jumped like a monkey," he is not being racist. Did you never see that this man has nothing to do with it? There is no such thing. A 4-match ban. What did he do? He went to the referee's room. He complained to the Turkish referee. When another referee is threatened, doesn't he write these things? Kadir Sağlam wrote in his report. "You would have ruined it" is not an insult there. But the other referee does not report the discussions about himself; that referee reports it. The penalty comes from there. We couldn't make sense of that last referral either.
"PEOPLE MADE FUN OF GALATASARAY MANAGEMENT"
Thanks to Mr. Eray, he also loves to escalate the situation in his statements. He likes to create a story from somewhere. Mourinho said, "You Turks," does Mourinho have such an expression? Have you ever seen it? I have never seen such a statement from him. Will racism come out of this too? When "monkey" was said, Drogba came out! There is nothing beyond that! That day, I warned not to escalate it to Europe; people made fun of the Galatasaray management. Did you ever see support? Did one person come out? Did any player support it, did one person say it was racist? Then it doesn't work! This man does not say, "You Turks." We criticize football too. Are we racists? He does not insult us. He is protesting the oddities in football! Since the foreign VAR came, it means there is a problem that the foreign VAR has come. We want it on the field now too. He has criticized this as well. I didn't understand this either.
"WHAT DOES GALATASARAY WANT REGARDING FOREIGN REFEREES?"
They said we were the first to want foreign VAR from the other side. I respect that. If we had the power, we would have brought it in September. There is a statement from Galatasaray regarding foreign VAR; they say foreign VAR is for privilege, not for justice. They call it theft, I understand that. Foreign VAR was for seeking privilege for us. I call out to all of Turkey. In the Fenerbahçe - Rizespor match, there are two controversial positions. The player who received a red card admitted that he received the red card because he said something to the referee. There is nothing to discuss. Put that in your pocket. The second position is a penalty position. Everyone said it was a penalty; they are wrestling, and they gave it in the Champions League too. Galatasaray is making a statement about these two positions. There may be a referee error. In the match where this statement was made, both were correct decisions. They say they do not want foreign VAR! I know what Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor want. What does Galatasaray want regarding foreign referees?
"DOES A TEAM THAT WANTS FOREIGN VAR WANT LOCAL REFEREES?"
Will a football club that wants foreign VAR ask for local referees regarding foreign referees? Does the team that wants a foreign referee in VAR want a local one there? The team making this statement, you wanted foreign VAR, and you call it theft. I don't understand. Did we connect the foreign VAR, is my intelligence not enough! You wanted it! There is opposition to whatever is asked; what they want is not clear. Why? They take positions according to the situation.
"8 WITH LOCAL VAR, 4 WITH FOREIGN"
The federation was late. There was an 8-point difference with local VAR. Then foreign VAR came. Foreign VAR came, and the point difference is currently four. If foreign referees do not come and continue with Turkish referees, we think they are under pressure, and we are very pessimistic!
"THERE IS SO MUCH LACK OF CONSCIENCE"
Mr. Eray's team has not lost a match yet! This is very funny; I say that this many yellow cards have not been given, they say we received this many cards. The issue is not about receiving cards. Not giving cards is another issue. I say this many cards have not been seen; we also have not been given a card. There is so much lack of conscience.
"A FOX DOES NOT TURN IN MY HEAD"
Have the Galatasaray managers ever said there was a mistake in our favor? I said after the Trabzonspor match. A fox does not turn in my head. We say what is in our heads. We do not want mistakes in our favor. We want justice. We think local referees are under pressure. That is why we want foreign referees. A foreign referee came, managed a good match, and left. Everyone made a statement. Trabzonspor, Beşiktaş, we want it.
"WE WANT A FOREIGN REFEREE FOR THE CUP MATCH"
We want a foreign referee for the home match (Galatasaray cup), and we want it for the Beşiktaş match too. We want justice.
"LAST YEAR A LOCAL REFEREE LEFT US WITH 10 PLAYERS"
- Are you saying we cannot be champions with Turkish referees?
We say this: a single mistake can determine the champion. In the 20th minute, a local referee left us with 10 players at Rams Park. In the 20th minute, the man shows a red card; I played with 10 players for 70 minutes in the most critical match. Arda Kardeşler continued after us. Then the first derby match was the Galatasaray - Beşiktaş match. What did he do? He did not give 8 yellow cards and 2 red cards. The same referee. All 11 referees say the same thing. How can we trust now? Is there any logic to this, why should we trust?
"THE ONLY CONTROVERSIAL POSITION IN THE DERBY WAS AGAINST US"
There is only one controversial position in the derby (Mario Lemina). That is not important to me. Those who keep this issue warm because he is from Maribor, why are they silent about referees who are either Fenerbahçe or Galatasaray? Why don't we know? The Maribor referee explained it like a man; he is not managing the Maribor match.
Why aren't the teams that referees support being looked at in Turkey?
"WON'T WE BE ABLE TO FIND REFEREES?"
In a country with a population of 90 million, won't we be able to find referees? Those who protested this and created a crisis over a referee from Maribor, shaking the country for 3 days, are saying the referee is from Fenerbahçe, let him not officiate! We don't want such a thing! These referees should withdraw first.
"DID WE CONNECT THE REFEREE FROM HERE?"
If a Bosnian referee comes, what would we say if they brought a Bosnian referee, even if he were from Dzeko's country? This sensitivity has already been shown. It is a shame to talk about this. I am the owner of Maribor, the referee is from Maribor, I bought the club six months ago, did we connect the referee from here! What relevance could it have? I saw it on Twitter.
"ONLY OKAN BURUK DIDN'T LIKE IT"
From the very beginning, our stance has been clear. A foreign referee came, and everyone made statements saying they wanted it. It is the most natural thing in the world for the federation to try something and want to apply it again after it has been successful. The only one who didn't like it is Coach Okan. I can't say anything about his comment.
"OUR STANCE HAS BEEN CLEAR FROM THE BEGINNING"
In the same match, they asked a Galatasaray player, they asked Osimhen, and he said the referee was quite good. The player who played in the match liked it. Coach Okan didn't like it. That's his opinion, but apart from him, no one else expressed dislike. Trabzonspor and Beşiktaş also liked it and wanted the same referee. The general consensus in Turkish football liked it. These are already top-level referees. Our view is that the teams competing for the championship should have their matches officiated by foreign referees until the end of the league. We want foreign referees; our stance has been clear from the beginning!
"IF YOU SAY COME, THEY DON'T COME"
Mr. Eray says he is being pushed. If the referees are being pushed, then why don't they want foreign referees? A very funny thing happened this year; Mr. İbrahim made a statement about referee mistakes. He said let a foreign referee come and look. They count these things, that wasn't given, this wasn't given, if you say come, they don't come anyway! According to whom was it not given, based on what? Instead of making these claims and stepping aside, they said let a foreign referee come and look, and we said the same thing. We started a dialogue with Mr. İbrahim. We determined the day, the referee, and the date. Everything is clear. I also made a statement. Is there a mistake here, do you see a mistake here? Names were discussed mutually. Was this a secret operation? I provided general information regarding this issue. I made a statement because journalists asked me. They backed out because I said this. Why did I announce it in advance, what's wrong with that? I announced it in advance. We learned from your close journalists that you would respond positively. How do you explain this, I got upset, I'm not here. They have no intention of coming at all! Mr. Eray said Acun Ilıcalı is going from channel to channel, I connected on that. Before that, I had participated in a program 1-1.5 ago. They say he is going from channel to channel.
"I CAN'T TURN 9 INTO 15"
After the Galatasaray match, when did they see 5 yellow cards here? I said here (Rams Park), I am talking about the yellow cards seen here, Mr. Eray. Everything I mentioned is related to that. I can't turn 9 into 15. I mean to say you didn't see it at Rams Park.