On September 6, Fenerbahçe chairman Aziz Yıldırım issued a statement regarding recent refereeing decisions and UEFA disciplinary sanctions. Earlier, Fenerbahçe lost 1-2 at home to Beşiktaş in the Süper Lig, with several match decisions drawing complaints from the club.

When discussing the team's stance on refereeing issues, Aziz Yıldırım stated that Fenerbahçe will not pressure anyone and only hopes that relevant authorities will fulfill their responsibilities.

"We will not pressure anyone. We are simply stating what happened. Those responsible for these duties must fulfill them. Stop saying, 'We went to the FA, we met with the head of the Central Referee Committee.' This is not a solution; this is the wrong approach."

Aziz Yıldırım believes that referees and VAR must be accountable for important match decisions. He cited the controversial handball incident in the 5th minute, stating that if the main referee did not see it, VAR should have intervened.

"Let them watch the full 90 minutes of the match. In the 5th minute, the opposition pushed the ball with their hands. If the main referee saw it, he should have blown his whistle. If he didn't see it, VAR should have. Why do we have VAR? It's to catch what the main referee misses. If VAR can't see it either, then we don't need VAR. Let's abolish it."

He also criticized some TV commentators and former referees, believing that some commentators do not strictly follow the rules when analyzing decisions but instead interpret them according to their personal understanding.

"That's not how football works. If the ball touches a hand, the rules clearly state where a handball violation begins. You just need to follow the rules and make a decision instead of constantly saying 'it is' or 'it isn't.'"

Aziz Yıldırım also stated that comments from some commentators may mislead fans. He emphasized that he may publicly highlight past mistakes made by some commentators in the future.

"You are not only misleading fans, but also trying to explain what happened differently from what you actually saw. This also hurts us. After the next match, I will name names and discuss some people, and I will also bring up mistakes they made in the past."

Regarding whether the FA and Central Referee Committee should intervene, Aziz Yıldırım believes this is not something that should be the club president's responsibility.

"We raised and discussed this issue not only with the president but also elsewhere. But we have never complained about anyone. The institutions responsible for these duties must fulfill them. This is not something a president should have to handle. The FA, the Central Referee Committee, and other committees all have a duty to perform."

When discussing Fenerbahçe's current squad and Champions League competitiveness, Aziz Yıldırım stated that the squad overall has no problems and emphasized that more opportunities should be given to young Turkish players.

"There is a financial meeting on September 27, and I will explain everything clearly then. What is important is that we nurture and truly develop young Turkish players in our squad."

Regarding allegations of insufficient defensive midfielders, he stated that the team still has young players and options like Mert Müldür.

"Now some people say we lack centre backs. We have already brought in young players. Now we also have a player named Mert Müldür—why not use him? If necessary, of course, we can use him."

Aziz Yıldırım believes that Fenerbahçe has many important matches this season, and if the team can properly utilize the existing squad, it still has the potential to achieve success.

"There are 8 Champions League matches, plus 6 matches against Beşiktaş, Galatasaray, and Trabzonspor, making it 14 matches total. If this squad plays all 14 of those matches, can it succeed? Yes."

He also noted that the team cannot rely solely on expensive transfers to solve squad problems. Due to factors such as foreign player quotas and the U23 market, continuously investing 50-60 million euros in transfer fees is unrealistic.

"Now there are only 10 foreign player slots—how do we bring them in? There are no U23 slots, you can't buy them at all, and others won't sell them to you. The market is like this now, with transfer fees starting at 50-60 million euros.

"We keep spending 50-60 million euros and buying 3 players—who pays for this? The fans pay. Isn't that unfair to them?"

Regarding the team's current squad, Aziz Yıldırım gave a positive assessment: "Our squad is good; there is no problem with the squad. But we still need to work harder."

When discussing the disciplinary sanctions previously imposed by UEFA on Fenerbahçe players Guendouzi and Greenwood, Aziz Yıldırım revealed that the club has begun the appeals process.

"Our staff has already filed the request and will now appeal to the arbitration body. We hope the sanctions will be reduced during the arbitration process. Greenwood's ban, as far as I know, has been overturned. We believe Guendouzi's ban will also be reduced."

Earlier, in Fenerbahçe's Champions League qualifying match against Lyon, both Guendouzi and Greenwood received UEFA disciplinary sanctions. Guendouzi was suspended for 4 matches, with 2 suspended for 1 year, and Greenwood was suspended for 1 match, suspended for 1 year.

Finally, Aziz Yıldırım again addressed the refereeing controversy in the Fenerbahçe vs. Beşiktaş match and apologized to the fans.

"I repeat, we did not play well today, and we apologize to the fans. However, if the referee had managed the match fairly, we might not have lost this game."

He also called on the media to be more careful when commenting on matches: "Please look at the specific situations in those matches before commenting. Watch the match, analyze it, then you can say whether their decisions were right or wrong. But don't jump to conclusions just by sitting in front of the TV."

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