13.03.2026 17:01
Gençlerbirliği reacted to Samsunspor President Yüksel Yıldırım's statements regarding the Turkish Cup, where he pointed to Galatasaray for the semi-finals, describing his words, which disregard them in a match that has not yet been played, as "an unfortunate assessment."
After the quarter-final matchups of the Turkish Cup, the statements made by Samsunspor Club President Yüksel Yıldırım sparked controversy. The Gençlerbirliği Club responded to Yıldırım's remarks with a written statement.
"AN UNFORTUNATE ASSESSMENT THAT DISREGARDS GENÇLERBİRLİĞİ"
The Gençlerbirliği Club stated that they closely followed the statements made by Samsunspor President Yüksel Yıldırım after the quarter-final draw. It was emphasized that Yıldırım's remark about facing Galatasaray in the semi-finals while evaluating the quarter-final match against Trabzonspor was an unfortunate assessment that disregarded Gençlerbirliği in a match that has not yet been played.
The club's statement reminded that it is natural for clubs to have confidence in themselves, but it was also noted that football is played on the field.
"MATCHES ARE WON ON THE FIELD"
The statement highlighted that matches are determined not by the clubs' budgets, past successes, or their positions in the points table, but by the struggle given on the field. It was stated that Gençlerbirliği, which has previously won the Turkish Cup twice, is as much a contender for the cup as all other clubs that reached the quarter-finals.
Gençlerbirliği also conveyed their grievances to Yüksel Yıldırım, who has earned the appreciation of the football community for his support of Anatolian clubs and the Samsunspor community, expressing their wishes for success to Samsunspor on the road to Europe.