25.02.2025 00:40
Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı responded to Okan Buruk's remarks about Jose Mourinho, saying, "He is famous for crying. He even went into the referee's room and cried! Let him keep crying!" Ilıcalı stated, "I think Okan Hoca spoke in the heat of the moment. I don't understand that either, in a situation that is being debated. Mourinho is crying, the referee was very bad... These are all perceptions... The film is very clear."
Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı made statements following the 0-0 draw in the Galatasaray derby. Ilıcalı reacted strongly to the words of the yellow-reds' coach Okan Buruk, who said about the yellow-blues' coach Jose Mourinho, "He is famous for his crying. He even went into the referee's room and cried! Let him keep crying!"
"WE COULD HAVE TAKEN 3 POINTS"
Acun Ilıcalı's statements are as follows;
"We are happy with the game but not with the result. Our goal is the championship. We are keeping our hopes alive. We have a significant fixture advantage. We will play against teams that are easier in the standings compared to Galatasaray. We continue in Europe and the cup. We are proud of the team and the coach. If we consider the missed opportunities, we could have taken 3 points.
HARSH RESPONSE TO OKAN BURUK
Mourinho's crying and all that... In Europe, referees and coaches shake hands and congratulate each other. I don't think Mourinho threatened by saying, 'You can never referee here again.' He congratulated and left. It's something every civilized person should do. I think Okan Coach spoke in the heat of the moment. I don't understand that either; they played poorly, couldn't create chances, and were eliminated from Europe. It's a debated situation. Mourinho is crying, the referee was very bad... These are all perceptions... The film is very obvious.
"THERE'S NO RESPONSE TO THIS"
A foreign referee came, and they stirred the hornet's nest. Before the derby, they said, 'Let him come from space.' The referee is from Maribor... The referee has nothing to do with us. Acun's team is there, the referee could do something! I laugh at these, there’s no equivalent in the world!
"WHICH TEAM DO OUR REFEREES SUPPORT?"
Do we know which team our referees support? The Maribor referee can't manage a Maribor match. Does a Galatasaray referee manage a Galatasaray match in Turkey? Does a Galatasaray referee manage a Fenerbahçe match? Why don't we know these? Even in England, they ask which team you support, and they don't give you matches. You are fixated on Maribor, talk about this too. Only in Turkey, the teams of referees are unknown, and they manage matches.
"WE STIRRED THE HORNET'S NEST"
If there was a foreign referee, there would be no point difference! With a foreign referee in 6 matches, 0 wins. In the 7th match with a foreign referee, no shots! This is the reality! We stirred the hornet's nest. I am sure that those who play against Galatasaray are saying, 'Oh, oh! I wish there had been a foreign referee in our match too.' What do the Beşiktaş fans say? In the Beşiktaş match, the referee missed 8 cards! Today they received 5 yellow cards; has anything like this happened before? Everyone is satisfied; Anatolian teams want this match too! There is only one team, Galatasaray!
"JUSTICE HAS COME NOW, EVERYONE WANTS IT"
There is a penalty situation, a foul that is not counted as a foul. There is a foul on En-Nesyri in the midfield, but I am not talking. My heart is at ease. Why didn't something hit our player's head when a corner was taken? I ask! Are we stupid, or did it not happen by chance? They didn't call it because there was a foreign referee. A flare was thrown, the game stopped. In Trabzon, our goalkeeper was burning, the local referee continued the game. The foreign referee looked at security here and continued. It's normal for Trabzonspor to want Vincic. We brought justice here. Actually, we didn't bring it; we rebelled. Not because we wanted it, I asked for a foreign VAR in August. Then Beşiktaş, Trabzonspor, and small teams rebelled. The TFF, 4 months later, with an 8-point difference, brought in a foreign VAR. We said that the massacre on the field continued, and the main referee was also foreign. Trabzonspor wants a foreign referee too. Everyone wants it. The favoritism is over now, enough. Last year, we were left with 10 men in the 20th minute; you didn't count my second goal. While we could have scored 5 with 10 men, we barely left with 1-0. We will demand justice, we will demand it to the end.
"IT'S ALL PERCEPTION, ALWAYS PERCEPTION"
Those who see injustice as a right are shouting. It's all perception, always perception! There must be a revolution in refereeing in Turkey urgently. Greece brought in foreign referees and made a leap. Why are you eliminated when you go to Europe? Because you get used to the referees here. In the AZ Alkmaar match, they fell to the ground 15 times, and the referee didn't call it. They fell in this match too, and the referee didn't call it. You didn't leave me and my family alone saying I want justice. I address the Galatasaray fans; we have no bad thoughts about you. Do your administrators want foreign referees or not? If they come from Bosnia, you will say Edin Dzeko. Your aim is clear; you want privilege.
"WE TRUST TFF"
We are here, we are strong, and we are coming step by step. Justice will come to football in Turkey too. We trust TFF. TFF came with Galatasaray's vote. Galatasaray voted; there is a 5-vote difference. If Galatasaray had voted for the others, they wouldn't have been able to come anyway. We found their statements sincere and said, 'We trust TFF.' They see the referee's mistakes too. What's wrong with that? We lost 8 points; we were harmed. But we believed that justice would come. Today justice has come; Trabzonspor wants justice. Beşiktaş wants it too.
WHAT DID OKAN BURUK SAY?
Galatasaray Coach Okan Buruk pointed out that Mourinho's press conference lasted too long after the match, saying, "Mourinho's crying lasted a bit too long! The Crying One... He is famous for his crying. He even went into the referee's room and cried! Let him keep crying!"