13.11.2025 01:24
Galatasaray Club President Dursun Özbek made statements during the ordinary council meeting in November. Özbek expressed that football players who engage in betting should be punished, making a critical warning: "Football players who bet must be penalized, but a player who bet years ago should be distinguished from a player who bet just a week ago. This issue should be resolved without harming the personal rights of these young individuals and the brand value of Turkish football."
Galatasaray Club President Dursun Özbek stated that they support all activities aimed at keeping Turkish football clean. President Özbek made statements at the regular November council meeting held at RAMS Park of the yellow-red club.
'I PRAY FOR GOD'S MERCY'
Özbek mentioned that they received deeply upsetting news last night, saying, "We learned that a cargo plane belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces had crashed within the borders of Georgia. I pray for God's mercy on our heroes who lost their lives in this tragic accident. I also extend my condolences to the grieving families, the Turkish nation, and the Turkish Armed Forces. November always starts with sadness for us. As every year, we commemorated our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with love, gratitude, and respect at 09:05 on Monday morning. Galatasaray will continue to walk in line with the goals set by our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and to make the people of this country proud. May the soul of our Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk be blessed." he stated.
'I TRULY BELIEVE'
Özbek, conveying that they want to achieve success in Europe as a club, said, "Our team made us all proud by winning against Ajax. I truly believe that this success will continue and take us further. I think the last match in the league was just an accident. We will continue our path to the end in the league, the cup, and Europe." he said.
'THOSE WHO GAMBLE SHOULD BE PUNISHED, BUT...'
Özbek noted that two yellow-red players were referred to the Professional Football Discipline Board regarding the Turkish Football Federation's gambling investigation, stating, "Our club is carefully monitoring the process. We support all necessary activities to keep Turkish football clean. The important point here is to separate the wheat from the chaff. Players who gamble should be punished, but a player who gambled years ago should be distinguished from a player who gambled a week ago. I believe this issue should be resolved without harming the personal rights of these young people and the brand value of Turkish football. News about a referee working at a high level has been misunderstood by the public. When such statements are made, it is necessary to examine the situation beforehand, scrutinize it, and determine what the activities will cost. I am against the destruction of the futures of young people. Punishment is a requirement of the disciplinary regulation, but there needs to be a grading system involved. Three of our teams are currently competing in Europe. The prejudices arising from this will affect our matches." he stated.
'APPROVAL CAME 2 WEEKS AGO'
Referring to the project in Aslantepe Valley, Özbek said, "We have taken action to build a complex that will serve basketball, volleyball, swimming, and indoor sports right next to our stadium. We have prepared the architectural project here. As per the procedure, they gave us a preliminary period to allocate the land to Galatasaray Club for 49 years. During this period, we need to submit the necessary projects to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and apply to the relevant authorities to obtain their approval and construction permit. We submitted our projects to the Ministry of Youth and Sports two months ago. Approval came from there two weeks ago. We will receive the construction permit very soon. We have a certain period ahead of us to complete this sports complex. We need to start construction within this period." he stated.