19.02.2025 17:11
Former referee Ali Palabıyık reacted to the Turkish Football Federation's decision to appoint a foreign referee for the Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe derby. Palabıyık stated, "I believe that Turkish football will not be easily managed by those sitting in that chair from now on. We will say that Turkish football should win, but right now, I think we have become the number one topic in the world."
Ali Palabıyık evaluated the TFF's decision to appoint a foreign referee for the Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe match. Palabıyık criticized the appointment of a foreign referee.
Palabıyık's statements in HT Sport are as follows;
"For weeks, the expectation was in this direction regarding this match. The disputes and arguments made by both teams after the matches brought us here.
The fact that the decisions made by Turkish referees on the field have become debatable, and the participation of both teams, and even Anatolian clubs, in this has created a foundation for this situation. The TFF President came out today and announced that a foreign referee would officiate the derby.
"WE HAVE 2 CANDIDATES"
Moreover, we had already agreed on the referee for this match and made a guess about who it would be. They are probably waiting for the matches to be played today. We have 2 candidates. After they officiate the Champions League matches, one of the 2 candidates will come to our country on Monday to officiate this match.
Everyone responsible for the current state of Turkish football and Turkish refereeing needs to come forward and do what they must do honorably. Just think, you have a group you are managing. We cannot see any referee from that group on the field. The TFF President does not find it sufficient and, in order to keep chaos at bay and protect the referees, he brings a foreign referee to our country with his own decision.
From what I read and saw in his statements, it was expected that a proposal would come from both teams, but it seems that no such proposal has come from either team. We see that he made this decision with the authority given to him by the board of directors. There is not much to say. I hope whoever comes to our country will be successful, and I hope we watch a match on Monday where sportsmanship is discussed, and the competition is truly high, as I believe it will not be easy to manage Turkish football for those who sit in that chair from now on.
"WE HAVE MADE HEADLINES WORLDWIDE"
Anatolian teams will also have similar requests regarding foreign referees. These requests need to be addressed as well. We will say that Turkish football should win, but right now, I think we have made headlines as the number one topic in the world."