A little over a year ago, the confrontation between the ruling bodies of Turkish football and Fenerbahçe almost resulted in a secession of the club from the Super Lig. At that time, we discussed a possible new Bosman case, this time involving an entire team. During the season, the complaints, especially by coach Jose Mourinho that there was prejudice against his team, resulted in multiple punishments. Now, after the leak of conversations through WhatsApp, it appears that this indeed was the case.
March 17 2024
This is the day that the powder keg of accumulated resentment for the practices of the Turkish Federation against Fenerbahçe blew up. At that time, the club took a few decisions but did not actually secede from Turkish football. The aforementioned leaked messages seem to indicate that the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (a sub-organization of the Turkish Federation) decided to punish the team for those considerations. And they chose Jose Mourinho for that punishment.
The reference «we will make him pay next season» in the messages is quite clear. The result was to impose on «Special One» a total of seven rounds of expulsion. Now, as expected, the club has submitted a petition for a clear and impartial investigation of the issue and severe punishments for everyone involved.
Silence but actions louder than words
While no investigation has been officially launched, no sanctions have been imposed, and, despite repeated attempts, there has not been even a single announcement on the subject from the ruling body involved (or even the superseding Turkish Football Federation for that matter), the fact that the president of PFDC, Celal Nuri Demirturk, and all other members of said committee, have resigned their positions, is a clear indication that there is indeed something fishy in those leaked messages, justifying the positions of Fenerbahçe.
In fact, there is further evidence of the claims. After the match with Galatasaray where Mourinho initially received a 2-match punishment, there was exposure to the social media of Celal Nuri Demirturk celebrating wearing a Galatasaray jersey. It is clear that the committee acted against the Portuguese coach in vengeance rather than disciplinary action.
Massive implications
To resolve issues in football, people turn to the ruling bodies for fair and impartial judgment. They expect them to investigate thoroughly and decide wisely based on solid evidence. When a ruling body such as a disciplinary committee, whose sole job is to administer justice, acts as a sword of vengeance, then it’s not just the members of this committee that should be judged. It’s a matter for the entire government of the country. And in this case, negligence and dereliction of duty, are the lowest of the offenses committed.
