It was another remarkable week of action in Turkey as the Super Lig title race took another twist before some incredible referee drama hit Galatasaray on Sunday afternoon.
There is just so much to talk about this week. The soap opera that is Turkish football had more dramatic chapters, with the first act taking place in Dolmabahce – the scene of an Istanbul derby between struggling Besiktas and Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
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In truth, it was an incredibly dull and low-quality affair. With Besiktas currently manager-less and set to have an election for a new President soon, it was little surprise that they looked so disjointed. But for Fenerbahce, it was extremely underwhelming and disappointing, as they struggled to get anything going in the game.
With the clash looking set to end goalless, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (remember him, Premier League fans), came off the bench late on and scored the winner with under 20 minutes to go when his cross went straight into Dominik Livakovic‘s net.
It was a surprising yet morale-boosting victory for Besiktas but a major hammer blow for Fenerbahce, who missed the chance to go level on points with Galatasaray ahead of their match the following day.
The result raised more questions about Mourinho and whether he is the man to win Fenerbahce their first title since 2014 as they look no better as an outfit compared to last year under Ismail Kartal – who guided the team to 99 points.
The football is less than inspiring and he has now lost matches against both Galatasaray and Besiktas this season. There is not much to suggest that they can overhaul the two-time defending champions, who are moving at a relentless pace.
Referee drama in Sivas
After Fenerbahce’s defeat, Galatasaray had the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Super Lig to six points with a visit to Sivasspor.
And it started in the worst possible fashion for Okan Buruk’s men, as young centre-back Metehan Baltaci was sent off for handball in the 15th minute. Just 10 minutes later, Sivasspor took the lead via former Galatasaray player Garry Rodrigues.
However, from that point on, despite playing with 10 men, Galatasaray put in a really measured and mature performance, with the brilliant Gabriel Sara controlling the game from midfield.
They gradually got hold of the contest, with Yunus Akgun, Victor Osimhen and Baris Alper Yilmaz all scoring to put them 3-1 up, before Sivasspor scored a late consolation goal.
What should have been the talking point was Galatasaray’s impressive 3-2 win with 10 men which saw them stretch their lead at the top of the table. However, the focus went elsewhere.
In the dying minutes of the game, Sivasspor striker Rey Manaj committed a horrific, cynical, studs-up tackle on Baris Alper by the corner flag, with the Turk having to be stretchered off as a result.
The VAR told Turgut Doman to look at the incident again on the monitor and recommended a red card, but in a barely believable plot twist, after re-watching the tackle, he decided not to send Manaj off.
It is not an understatement to say that has taken over all the headlines in Turkish football in recent days, with no one talking about the match itself.
Debate has been raging on.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) put out a statement straight after the match: “We deeply regret that Baris Alper Yilmaz, a valuable player of Galatasaray and our national team, suffered an injury as a result of an unsportsmanlike tackle during today’s Sivasspor – Galatasaray match.
“As the Turkish Football Federation, we would like to inform the public that this sad incident will be investigated in detail and that we will do everything possible to ensure that those responsible receive the necessary disciplinary punishment. The health and safety of every player who is part of Turkish football is our highest priority.”
The President of the TFF Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu also spoke to various YouTube shows about the incident.
Speaking to BTV, he said: “They are conducting an operation on me. We will not allow anyone to play with our dignity even if he is a referee. I have never seen anything so disgusting in my life. He (Baris) plays for the national team, our national pride, and is our brother. We cannot possibly condone this action.”
You could point to the lack of quality officials in Turkey, but surely even the worst referees on earth would surely have spotted that this challenge was a stonewall red card.
Haciosmanoglu hinted that he believes there may be a plot within the referee association to make him look corrupt. This also comes days after Galatasaray President Dursun Ozbek filed charges against him for threatening, insulting, hating and inciting violence, after the club voiced their dissatisfaction with his leadership.
Turkish clubs and many pundits are always quick to call out referees for being inadequate in the country and are never shy to lean towards the idea of corruption, and this incident as well as the words from the TFF president will only make things spiral.
Galatasaray are also now set to file a complaint against sports broadcaster beIN Sports Turkey, accusing them of not showing proper replays and images relating to decisions surrounding them as they would rather see Galatasaray drop points so Fenerbahce stay within grasp as a title race would benefit their viewership.
Just your average week of Turkish Football!
Highlight of the Week
Goztepe forward Juan Santos was guilty of producing one of the misses of the season, putting the ball wide with the goal gaping. Thankfully, he made amends just five minutes later to put his side a goal up.
Team of the Week
Midfielder David Tijanic is the player of the week after his goal helped Goztepe defeat Adana Demirspor 3-1. Teammate Romulo also makes the side after his goal and assist, while Galatasaray duo Yunus and Osimhen make appearances.
Istanbul Basaksehir have three players in the XI, while Eyupspor have two. Arda Turan’s side continue to be one of the most impressive sides of the season, as they crushed another high-flying outfit Samsunspor 3-0 on the weekend.
