13.09.2025 23:00
Fenerbahçe President and Presidential Candidate Ali Koç made headlines with his statements during a program. Using striking expressions about the refereeing community, Koç mentioned their application regarding photos of a referee taken in a casino and criticized the fact that this referee later became the assistant VAR director. He also brought up the issue of referees filing lawsuits against fans.
Fenerbahçe President and Presidential Candidate Ali Koç made statements regarding current issues on Sözcü TV. Ali Koç made striking remarks about the elections and the refereeing community.
"WE HAVE FINANCIAL SUCCESS"
Stating that success has been achieved outside of football, Ali Koç said, "From a financial perspective, we have an important success. Our achievements in amateur branches are evident as well. Fenerbahçe is currently the only club in Europe that has won the EuroLeague in both women's and men's categories... They have done this twice. We have won many medals in amateur sports. In the last three Olympic Games, 25% of the team were Fenerbahçe athletes... Just like in the past, our championships have been stolen during our term as well. We have many successes in our club's seven-year period. However, when success does not come in football, other successes are forgotten. I believe that if we can unite this season, we are the strongest candidate for the championship." he stated.
"WE ARE NOT WORKING FOR THE ELECTION"
Stating that they are working for Fenerbahçe, not for the election, Ali Koç said, "We are not working for the election. We are working for the future of Fenerbahçe. If we wanted, we could have broken our sponsorship revenues and spent them. But we did not do that. This is not beneficial for Fenerbahçe. We only asked some box owners to take their boxes for two years during the Covid period. Other than that, we acted very responsibly." he expressed.
"IT'S NOT EASY TO BREAK ME"
Continuing his remarks, Ali Koç said, "If we leave the presidency of Fenerbahçe Sports Club to those who invest in social media, to those who try to intimidate me with insults and slanders, we can never close that door again. Did I commit theft? Did I commit a disgraceful crime? No. We just couldn't become champions in football. I didn't know I was this resilient. However, I have seen that it is not easy to break me." he commented.
"VAR DIRECTOR WAS APPOINTED!"
Making striking remarks about the refereeing community, Ali Koç said, "Recently, we went after one of our referees who had selected photos in a casino. We identified him and made our applications. This person's defense was requested. Without providing his defense, this person left his position, retired without presenting any tickets, invoices, etc. for where he went. Then what happened, this person became the VAR assistant director. Currently, there is no VAR director. I mean, the person in charge of VAR right now! What kind of mentality is this! With what logic, with what argument, the person who was photographed in a casino and instead of defending himself in the investigation, retired, is now the VAR assistant director! Maybe this will cost me dearly in our matches, but I have to say this. Why does Fenerbahçe always bring these issues to the agenda? The referees have filed thousands of lawsuits against the fans, not just our fans, they have made it a source of income!" he stated.