Beşiktaş reacts sharply to the MHK: Daltaban calls on Ferhat Gündoğdu to resign

In the 2nd week of the Trendyol Süper Lig, Beşiktaş lost 1-0 to Corendon Alanyaspor, and reactions against the match referee Adnan Deniz Kayatepe have not subsided. In its statement after the match, the club management announced that they did not want to see names like Kayatepe and Bülent Birincioğlu in their matches again. Beşiktaş Vice President Hakan Daltaban delivered sharp messages on the matter at a press conference held at Tüpraş Stadium.

Daltaban stressed that everyone agrees MHK President Ferhat Gündoğdu is a 'good person,' but that the real issue is merit and performance in the role, and he invited Gündoğdu to resign. Addressing TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu as well, Daltaban said that the MHK President must be removed from his post so as not to end up with a federation president who cannot manage this crisis. Daltaban noted that despite polite warnings given last season over refereeing disputes, they have seen no improvement, calling this 'negligence.'

Reminding that Belgian footballer Trossard was slapped during the Alanyaspor match yet the incident went unpunished, Daltaban said that such an act would lead to legal proceedings if it happened in the stands. The executive criticized the fact that not a single yellow card was shown despite 28 fouls in the match, and that shirt-pulling in individual duels was being ignored, while also demanding that the communications in the VAR room be shared with the public. Citing refereeing performances at the World Cup and European competitions as examples, Daltaban argued that Turkish refereeing is in a serious crisis when compared to that standard.

Recalling that the club had decided at the start of the season that executives and sporting directors would not make statements about referees after matches, Daltaban noted that this decision only lasted a week. Emphasizing that Beşiktaş wants to play sport, not fight, and that they are not demanding anything they do not deserve but will not allow their own rights to be violated either, Daltaban added that as management they are accountable to their community and that fans can remove them from office at the congress if necessary.