09.02.2025 19:31
Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı, in a statement after the match against Alanyaspor, called for a foreign referee for the derby against their eternal rival Galatasaray. Ilıcalı said, "Our opponent is positive about having a foreign referee, and we are positive too. One of the best referees in the world can be brought in. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has the power to do this. Since both Galatasaray and we have this opinion, let’s request it together from the TFF."
Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı made striking statements after the 2-0 victory against Alanyaspor away. Ilıcalı made a call to their eternal rival Galatasaray for the derby that will be widely discussed.
"THE BEST IN THE WORLD"
Speaking about the victory, Acun Ilıcalı said, "We are very happy, very very happy. It was a very important away game. Our team started the match well, played carefully, and took the 3 points. I sincerely congratulate our players and our coach. I want to open a parenthesis, Fenerbahçe's rising star is the fans. I have experienced the greatness of Fenerbahçe fans since my childhood. We have the best fans in the world. They never stopped from the 1st minute, it was unbelievable. Sometimes you pause, catch your breath, but we always heard their voices. Thank goodness we are Fenerbahçeli." he said.
"LET'S MAKE A REQUEST TO TFF TOGETHER"
In response to the question, "Is there a plan for a foreign referee for the derby?" Acun Ilıcalı said, "I don't know about TFF's side, but our opponent is positive about a foreign referee, and we are positive too. One of the best referees in the world can be brought. TFF has the power for that. Since Galatasaray's and our views are in this direction, let's make a request to TFF together. We hope there will definitely be a foreign referee in the derby. The decision is up to TFF. Representing Fenerbahçe, I call out to Galatasaray, we have followed the statements about foreign referees. They should apply too, and we should apply, and let this derby be managed by the world's most famous and best referees," he expressed.
REACTION TO İBRAHİM HATİPOĞLU
Regarding the words of Galatasaray executive İbrahim Hatipoğlu, "I am being punished, why is Acun not being punished?" Acun Ilıcalı said, "If you pay attention to my statements, I have been responding to accusations for 1.5 months. Then it is said that it is being discussed about Galatasaray. There was an incident yesterday. It was an incident related to me. I am exercising my right to respond. For some reason, we are always being pulled outside the field. Mr. İbrahim Hatipoğlu made a statement, saying Acun is not being punished, why am I? It can happen, these are things we are used to. Unfortunately, this claim is wrong; I have already been punished. They say Acun is being given privileges, which is incorrect. We have been punished, yet they claim we are not. The sad part is that Mr. İbrahim Hatipoğlu said, 'I didn't say anything about Acun.' I called dear Sezgin and asked, 'What happened?' I asked about another issue, I asked about the transfer, and he said, 'Forget about the transfer, why is Acun not being punished, if you are going to write something, talk about this.' He said, 'If there is a contrary claim, I am ready to quit my profession.' Mr. Hatipoğlu denied his correspondence with me, it is on my phone. He is also denying Sezgin. I asked Sezgin, 'Is Mr. İbrahim lying?' He said, 'Yes, he is lying,'" he stated.
"I COULDN'T ACCEPT BEING ACCUSED"
Acun Ilıcalı also stated, "On one hand, we say let's not make a statement, it is an accusation directed at me. There was no match, it was a statement without a match. All our statements recently have been responses to the accusations from the other side. I couldn't accept being accused of lying," he said.
RESPONSE TO THE TRANSFER QUESTION
In response to the question, "Will there be a new transfer?" Ilıcalı said, "Transfer? We have done more than enough in transfers. Forget about the limit, we have exceeded the limit. We are currently looking for a solution. Our fans wanted the transfer, and we were determined. Our president has made up his mind about this, we are united for the championship, and we thought about how we can make this team better. In January, we could be the best in Europe. Very few teams in Europe can make such quality transfers. We will make a transfer, but we need to send a player away. There will be such a transfer (laughing). We are very happy. It makes us very happy that our fans appreciate our transfers. They may initially criticize the transfer, but the player responds on the field. They make claims about our players, and the player gives the answer," he replied.