08.03.2026 00:04
After the Beşiktaş match, Okan Buruk stated that he would not be on the bench for the match against RAMS Başakşehir due to the yellow card he received. The experienced coach criticized the referee's decisions, saying, "I was not happy about the victory. They showed me a yellow card out of nowhere and put me in a suspended situation. Such arbitrary decisions were made."
Galatasaray's head coach Okan Buruk made statements after the 1-0 victory against Beşiktaş in the away derby.
'ARBITRARY DECISIONS WERE MADE'
Okan Buruk, who announced that he would be suspended for the RAMS Başakşehir match after receiving a yellow card, said, "We will play a European match in three days. We will be missing in the league match for a while. I won't be in the league either. I told the fourth official, 'If you want, let it play a little longer,' and I received a yellow card. He called the main referee and had him show the card. The communication of the fourth official is also poor." He added, "I didn't celebrate the victory. They showed me a yellow card out of nowhere and put me in a suspended situation. Such arbitrary decisions were made."
"A PENALTY WAS NOT GIVEN IN THE 20TH MINUTE"
Evaluating the match, the successful coach said, "We had 3-4 chances to score. We even created opportunities with 10 men. We went there. We started the match as we thought. The opponent faced us with a single player upfront, they left the ball to us, which we were expecting. We had possession of the ball there and created chances. If we had made the final passes well, we could have increased the score. A penalty was not given in the 20th minute, it could have changed the match. If it had been given, we could have changed the match. We fought well with 10 men. Even if we had stayed with 10 men in the first half, we would have fought to win," he stated.
"THE MHK PRESIDENT IS NOT ON THE AGENDA"
Emphasizing that both teams were unhappy with the referee's decisions, the experienced coach said, "Both teams were unhappy. All four referees were having a bad day. Both Galatasaray and Beşiktaş are unhappy with the referees. Overall, we are unhappy. TFF, MHK... There are places where we are also at fault, there are mistakes. However, something must be done to correct the poor management of the referees. This is in the hands of the TFF. The MHK president is also not on the agenda at all. In the past, MHK presidents were always on the agenda. The MHK president should also come out and show how performances can improve. Both teams are unhappy with the referee," he said.
"IT SEEMS THIS WAS MEANT TO BE"
Finally, Okan Buruk stated, "We defended well in the second half. We executed team defense correctly. Uğurcan played very well. We defeated a rising, fit, and good team. We need to evaluate 11 against 11. We were the ones applying pressure, not letting them out. I was about to take Lang and Yunus out, preparing good players in a tight area to go better towards the opponent's goal. It seems this was meant to be. The next match is against Liverpool, a very different match. The match against Başakşehir after Liverpool will be different. Winning was important and valuable. It was not just 3 points, but it was a victory that also strengthened us mentally," he evaluated.