Sivasspor's reaction to foreign referees: It is an insult to Turkish football

Bahattin Eken, the President of Sivasspor, one of the Trendyol Super League teams, announced that they do not want foreign referees in their matches.

Eken, in his written statement, stated that they were deeply saddened by the process that Turkish football has been dragged into recently.

Reminding that Sivasspor Club, like many other clubs, had previously approved the use of foreign Video Assistant Referees (VAR), Eken said, "However, at this point, I openly accept that this was a mistake and I would like to share it with the public."

Arguing that the fate of Turkish football is not so worthless that it can be left to the mercy of foreign referees, Eken said, "Not trusting our own referees and seeking solutions from foreigners is an insult not only to our referees but to all of Turkish football. This practice damages the reputation of our football in the eyes of the world public opinion and reduces Turkey to the position of a country that cannot train its own referees."

Eken claimed that they were among the teams that suffered the most due to referee mistakes and noted the following:

"The solution is not foreign referees, but on the contrary, to protect our own values. Thousands of our country's children in these lands have the knowledge, experience and courage to manage matches in the fairest and best way when necessary. As long as we trust them, as long as we build our system in a way that our own children can grow up. As Sivasspor Club, I openly declare to the public that we reject the practice of foreign referees and that we do not want foreign referees in our matches from now on. The future of Turkish football can only be built by trusting and supporting our own referees."