Cüneyt Çakır, “What is the expectation of the world from referees in football?” In his speech at the panel on the subject, he said that when he started this profession, he first dreamed and then worked hard.
Reminding that in the years he took office, Turkish referees only managed the qualifying matches in European cups, and they were not assigned to the group matches, Çakır said that he also directed a qualifying match in Ukraine in 2008.
Explaining that during their city tour before the match, their hosts took them to the construction of the stadium where the opening and final matches of the 2012 European Championship will be played, Çakır said, “My teammates were waiting in the car. I immediately called them, ‘Look, what do you see?’ I said, ‘Are they building a mall?’ They asked. “They are constructing the stadium where the opening and final matches of the European Championship, which will be held four years later, will be played. Are you ready to manage a match here or not?” I said, ‘We are here, master.’ They said. We managed both the opening game and the final game on that field. First you will dream, then you will work hard.” he said.
Çakır reminded that in 2014, during the Gençlerbirliği-Kardemir Karabükspor match, which he directed in the Süper Lig, he got sick and left the match halfway.
Expressing that he thought he had a heart attack during the match, Çakır said, “My right lung has deflated. Things like, ‘You’re going back to refereeing. You’re very strong.’ He said. I also believed in my doctor. 40 days later, I directed the derby match. At the end of the season, I directed the Champions League final.” said.
Çakır stated that in the past, there was a referee that strictly followed the rules, kept a distance from everyone and did not communicate with anyone.
Emphasizing that everyone should understand each other well during the matches, Çakır said, “The better you communicate on the field as a referee, the more people will believe in you. They understand you when you make a mistake. Respect is a mutual thing. We should not always expect respect from the other. We should show respect to each other. Communication is getting better every day. It is very important for the referees to listen and believe what the players are saying.” he spoke
Uilenberg: “There was police officer-style arbitration”
UEFA Refereeing Board Member Jaap Uilenberg, who participated in the panel via video conference, said, “Why isn’t there a Turkish referee in international competitions?” He emphasized that the first thing he did was to understand what was going on in Turkish refereeing.
Uilenberg stated that he saw the refereeing in the style of a police officer on the field and that he was working to turn it into a manager referee.
“At the World Cup in Qatar, the most successful referees were the referees who ruled the match. For a successful refereeing, you need to be completely impartial. Besides, you need to know what football expects. Sometimes you need to explain the reason for your decisions to the player. You shouldn’t consider yourself superior to the players. I tried to explain this to the referees in Turkey after 2010. The referee community in Turkey really adopted this. Then there were different discourses about Turkish referees in Europe. We started to tell Europe that there are good referees in Turkey. His thoughts I changed it. Cüneyt Çakır’s success also contributed to this.”
Uilenberg added that today’s football fans want impartial referees, while football players want referees who are open to communication and criticism.