19.02.2025 15:00
The President of the Turkish Football Federation, İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu, announced that a world-class referee will officiate the derby match between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe. Among the prominent referees are Slovenia's Slavko Vincic, Romania's Istvan Kovacs, France's Clement Turpin, and Poland's Szymon Marciniak. Vincic has officiated once this season in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and he is the favorite of the TFF.
The referees likely to officiate the derby, where TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu stated, "We will have a foreign referee officiate worldwide," have been announced.
Turkey Football Federation President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu announced that a foreign and globally recognized referee will officiate the derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.
Here are the foreign referees in the spotlight and likely to be appointed;
SLAVKO VINCIC - SLOVENIA
Vincic has officiated once this season in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He officiated last year's Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. He will officiate the PSV-Juventus match in the Champions League this week.
Vincic is currently the favorite of the TFF for the derby.
On the other hand, the Galatasaray side does not want Vincic to officiate, claiming he has close ties with Acun Ilıcalı. The yellow-reds believe that Vincic, who was born in the city where the Maribor club owned by Acun Ilıcalı is located, will not be impartial.
ISTVAN KOVACS - ROMANIA
Kovacs is a name favored by UEFA. He will officiate the Real Madrid-Manchester City second leg in the Champions League. He presents an authoritative image. He officiated the Czech Republic-Turkey match in Euro 2024, showing 2 red cards and 7 yellow cards to the Czech team, and a total of 11 yellow cards to our national team.
CLEMENT TURPIN - FRANCE
42-year-old Turpin, who started wearing the FIFA badge in 2010 and has been a UEFA Elite Referee since 2012, officiated in the 2014, 2018, and 2022 World Cups. The French Football Federation has consistently named him 'Referee of the Year' in recent years. He officiated the 2021 UEFA Europa League final and the 2022 UEFA Champions League final. He officiated in EURO 2024. In 2020, he officiated the derby between Levski Sofia and Slavia Sofia.
SZYMON MARCINIAK - POLAND
Marciniak, who was named the best referee in the world by IFFHS in 2023 and 2024, has previously expressed his willingness to officiate the derby twice. He started his professional refereeing career in 2009 and has held the FIFA badge since 2011. He also officiated the 2018 UEFA Super Cup final and the 2023 UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter in Istanbul.