There is a nice bunfight starting up on the American Turk yahoo group (linked on the right). Well, when I say bunfight it involves two people. Gulay started it all with a pretty full on attack on Fenerbahce and refereeing standards in general.
Let me quote just a little bit of Gulay's post.
How can Selcuk Dereli, the referee, award 4 yellow cards to Besiktas and none to Fenerbahce, especially after the two penalty positions. The man is a disgrace and should be suspended immediately.
A feisty lady is Gulay. What a shame she isn't an Ankaragucu or Genclerbirligi fan for she would definately fit in with our own one-eyed view of the game.
Anyway. This post of Gulay's got sent out to all the members of American Turk (of which I'm a member as well even though I'm neither Turkish nor American) and a fellow called Cagri then came in to bat for Fenerbahce. Here is some it:
It's always entertaining to see GS fans complain about referees. Especially after the 1996-2000 period when we saw 100 min. matches, diving players all the time (talk about "absolutely blatant cheatings" :-)) ), "legendary" players who tried some greco style wrestling moves with the referee (and got away with it without even a yellow card) on one side, and broken legs not even penalized by a foul, 100% penalties not given etc on the other... I will never forget Elvir Bolic, a Fenerbahce player then, saying once : "Abi penalti olmasi icin olmemiz mi lazIm?" (Do we have to die for the referee to give a penalty?)...
Excellent stuff.
Cagri ends his message with:
So I would strongly recommend to get the facts straight before making baseless accusations...
Well, many people have said the same about this blog but hey if supporters aren't allowed to be biased then we all might as well give up football.
As for my penny's worth. I think they both have a point. The game in Turkey has always been in favour of the big three. A complaint by, lets say Ankaragucu, that a penalty should or should not have been given will result in possibly a paragraph in the papers. If Fenerbahce or Galatasaray complain it will be discussed endlessly for weeks.
On one point though I agree 100 percent with Gulay, Fenerbahce have been treated very leniantly this season (especially in the last few games) and in my opinion Nobre is an out and out cheat.
Hopefully the Gulay-Cagri fight continues and if it does I'll be sure to keep you informed.
PS: Gulay, if you happen to read this can you enable comments on your posts. I think you have to go to the template page and change the settings.
The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
I was going to suggest the same thing to her, but I found a previous post with comments so I posted Cagri's message there. Should inspire her to join Amerikan Turks me thinks. :)
ReplyDeleteGreetings Kankas. I can't understand all this wailing and knashing of teeth about referees in Turkey. As an ex-Class 1 referee who refereed in the Pro leagues in Cyprus and England, I can assure you that MOST referees are honest men with the best interests of footie at heart. Also, as a personal friend of 2 of the referees at present in the Turkish footie league (no names on the off-chance that they might read this) I can assure you that MOST referees in Turkey are not `homers` nor swayed by the crowd or press (even agressive journalists in Ankara who will remain nameless !!!). I will draw your attention to a sentence in most of the Laws of the Game.... `in the referees opinion.......`!!! The bottom line is that the referees decision is FINAL and there is no argument, or should be no argument about it...... unless you like to watch the horror programme `Maraton` on Sunday night !!!! Let's get back to the nitty-gritty......... Ankaragucu MUST win tomorra !!!
ReplyDeleteAll the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Eski Kanka Jim: The voice of officialdom. (but who would no doubt throw his entire religious beliefs out the window if, say, a penalty given wrongly against Ankaragucu meant they are relegated in a few months time)
ReplyDeleteThe word `relegation` is now `officially` a non-word until the end of the season. This is a direct order from the officialdom committee of Blogger International. Non-compliance will be severely punished !!!
ReplyDeleteAll the best from Eski Kanka Jim