Former Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham is at the centre of a refereeing row in Turkey after he was denied a penalty over the weekend.
The Frenchman plays for Super Lig side Samsunspor, whom he joined from Swansea City in the summer of 2023.
Playing in the centre of midfield, Ntcham has been in fine fettle this season, scoring five goals and assisting one across 12 appearances in all competitions.
At the weekend, his side faced Galatasaray. Although they eventually lost 3-2, when they were 2-1 down, Samsunspor were denied what they thought was a clear penalty.
Ntcham had already netted from the spot to make it 1-1 earlier in the match, but after Victor Osimhen put Gala back ahead, the 28-year-old, who won nine trophies in four years with Celtic, felt he should have had another chance to bag from 12 yards. Referee Halil Umut Meler was having none of it, however.
Post-match, Ntcham’s club released a scathing statement that heavily criticised the official. It read [RecordSport]: “The referee of the match was assigned to other matches our club had previously played and made wrong decisions against us.
“Although we had drawn attention to this issue in previous matches, the same referee was assigned to this critical match that is extremely important for us.
“The referee of the match, who made many wrong decisions in the match, used the majority of his decisions in favor of our opponent. In particular, a clear foul position against our player Olivier Ntcham in the opponent’s penalty area was ignored and a penalty was not awarded.
“The referee management and decisions in question have been discussed by everyone, both biased and impartial, in the public. For the development and brand value of Turkish football, the performance of the match and VAR referees must be reviewed and the necessary must be done urgently.”
This latest debacle comes after Jose Mourinho, now at Fenerbache, was recently heavily critical of the Turkish FA and its officials after a key decision went against his side.
While we complain in Scottish football about our referees, linesmen, and VAR operators, it appears there are much higher levels of incompetence out in Turkey. Either that is the case, or clubs there tend to call out the poor decisions more often.
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