Galatasaray coach Buruk: I don't remember a derby referee showing such a bad performance

Buruk made a statement at the press conference held after the derby.

• There was no winner in the Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe derby

Buruk, who stated that Fenerbahçe Technical Director Jose Mourinho's press conference lasted a long time, said, "The Crying One's speech took a bit long. As you know, he is famous for crying. He cried for a long time here. He cried inside, he went into the referee's room and cried. Let him continue crying."

The technical director of the yellow-red team emphasized that the game of both teams was not satisfactory and said, "It was not a game that we were very happy with for either team in terms of game play. Their fighting power was very high. Our opponent is in 7th place in the league in terms of ball possession. They were a team that used transition play and long balls a lot and made crosses from the wings. In terms of defense, we both cut long balls with Lemina and took the right position in side crosses. They got into a position from set pieces. We could have been more productive but we did a good job physically."

Buruk, who stated that they made offensive moves and Fenerbahçe made defensive moves in the second half, said, "We made offensive moves towards the end of the match. They changed a stopper, took out a forward and put a defensive midfielder. It was important for us that our opponent thought about not losing. Szymanski was creating too much danger. When we turned to two static midfielders, our opponent's production also decreased. We gave away one set piece position. We could have produced more. We could have done better. I am unhappy when we leave a match without a wealth of positions. The area I was criticized the most was our poor defense. We defended well today but we could not do what we wanted in offense."

"I don't remember a derby referee performing this badly"

Criticizing the performance of referee Slavko Vincic, who officiated the derby, Buruk continued his words as follows:

"I don't remember a derby referee who performed this badly. He constantly stopped the game. There are the cards he showed, the fouls he gave and didn't give, the hands he didn't give. He gave many things against us. It was obvious how much pressure he was under. Such an experienced referee's hands and feet shook. I saw him put the whistle to his mouth three times when there was no position. He was waiting that long to blow the whistle. He didn't listen to the fourth referee because he was Turkish. There was a position where Mert Müldür bounced the ball on the ground like a basketball player twice. The fourth referee (Kadir Sağlam) said hand but he didn't give the hand because he was Turkish. He said to me a few times, 'Don't get involved too much.' "I have never seen such a bad performance. Fenerbahçe and its coach will be pleased. Because he used all the foul rights on his side, he stopped the game too many times. I know that the quality of football is not very high. We always complained about the Turkish referees stopping the game too many times. Today, there was a referee who stopped the game twice as much. He was far below his own performance. I think this is due to pressure. He stopped the game so much that I realized we had wronged the Turkish referees. We have seen worse ones."

Buruk, upon being informed of Jose Mourinho's words, "If Galatasaray is a good team, they want foreign referees to continue," said, "We cannot decide on that issue, they do. Whatever they say goes. So let them make the necessary applications."

"We have seen that good referees also give bad performances under pressure"

Galatasaray Coach Buruk claimed that Vincic was under pressure.

Expressing that he did not like the performance of the Slovenian referee, Buruk said:

"We have clearly seen that good referees also give bad performances under pressure. I did not like his performance. He stopped the match a lot. If they are going to officiate so badly, they should not come. An atmosphere was created through this referee. Everyone knew this referee was coming. A negative atmosphere was created especially on our side. A referee is coming from Maribor. Acun Ilıcalı has a team in Maribor. The UEFA President is close to Ali Koç. These can put pressure on the referee from outside. These need to be eliminated so that he can come with a clear mind when choosing a referee. If a referee had come from England, France or Spain, none of these would have happened. We are putting the blame on the referee with the wrong choice. Mourinho entered the referee's room after the match. It is also very wrong for him to speak insultingly to the Turkish referee there. I cannot believe that Turkish referees are being humiliated this much. I condemn this. It is right, if he is going to officiate objectively without violating the rights of both sides, a foreign referee should come."

"We got the advantage of double goal difference but it doesn't mean anything"

The coach of the yellow-red team stated that they should continue winning until the end of the season.

The 51-year-old coach, who stated that they gained the two-way goal difference against Fenerbahçe, whom they beat 3-1 in the first half of the season, said, "We gained the two-way goal difference advantage, but this does not mean anything. 2-3 matches are about losing points. We need to continue winning to maintain our advantage. One team was psychologically stronger before the derby. One team had won its last matches and continued in Europe. Our game and squad had not settled after being eliminated from Europe and the transfers. Today, we started to settle the game. We will develop this game. It is a transition period for us."

Noting that Fenerbahçe has good players, Buruk said, "The six-point difference continues. Nothing is over right now. Fenerbahçe has a very good squad. Everything is in our hands now. I will work very hard to win the next 9 matches."

"It's time for us to unite"

Okan Buruk denied the claims that Gabonese midfielder Mario Lemina was taken against his will.

Buruk, who stated that no player he did not want was brought in, said, "I am the technical director of this team. I always brought in the players I wanted. The ones I did not want did not come. I prepared him by playing him for 30 minutes last match. I started him in the first 11 today. I told him that I trusted him since he came. We had talked on the phone before he came. I formed this squad willingly. We will also experience great success with Lemina. There are many efforts to stir up Galatasaray on social media. It is time for us to unite. There is only one Galatasaray. We need to establish this unity now. We clearly know what the opposing team is doing and what is going on outside. Our fans should now embrace the team and focus on the fifth star and the 25th championship."

The experienced coach, when reminded that they were criticized for not writing Lemina into the UEFA squad, said, "When he first came, he said he was not ready. If we had used him in the AZ Alkmaar matches, we might have injured Lemina. He prepared him for this match for about 15 days. We saw his fatigue in the last minutes of the match. It was the best for both him and the team. If he was today's Lemina, I would have written him first on the list."

"If we let so many police into the green field, we are all guilty"

Galatasaray Technical Director Okan Buruk also evaluated the special security measures taken for the derby.

Stating that tensions are rising in Turkish football, Buruk said, "Everyone is at fault for this. If we are letting so many police onto the pitch, we are all at fault. I am also included in this. So we must have made a mistake somewhere. The police are also under pressure to prevent an incident. Last year, after the match ended in our stadium, they tried to celebrate on the pitch. There was an assault there. The incident was taken to court. Our stadium manager experienced a very serious assault. I do not want to blame one side. However, we are all creating tension in the name of football. I do not think we can eliminate this. It gets worse every year, fanaticism increases. We cannot prevent this." He concluded his words.

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