Galatasaray 2nd President Metin Öztürk responded to the statements of Kocaelispor President Recep Durul with a written statement. Öztürk,
“It should be our common responsibility to protect the brand value of Turkish football, strengthen the principle of fair-play and respect the efforts of everyone who works on the field.
However, the ugly statements made by the Kocaelispor President after the match played in Kocaeli today are extremely far from this awareness of responsibility, inappropriate and provocative.
It is shameless, to say the least, to exploit an issue that hurts the whole of Turkish football, such as the betting scandal. Such statements feed the language of hatred, not sportsmanship.
More importantly, the music played in the stadium and the abusive chants directed at the fans clearly show that Kocaelispor management is encouraging this low level.
I condemn this attitude and call on the Turkish Football Federation and relevant institutions to take action.
Galatasaray is a community that has earned its place through hard work and sweat throughout its 120-year history. “It is not tainted by anyone’s dirty language, insinuation or slander.”
He used his expressions.
ABDULLAH KAVUKÇU: WE WILL NOT REMAIN SILENT ABOUT SUCH STATEMENTS!
Galatasaray Sportif A.Ş Deputy Chairman Abdullah Kavukçu also responded to Recep Durul’s statements. Speaking to A Spor, Kavukçu said:
“The president of Kocaelispor, who wants to be famous, spoke on television. The man who will talk about Galatasaray should first look at himself and know his place. We already congratulated them for their win.
Last year they moved up from the 1st League to the Super League. On the way out, 142 referees had problems with the 1st League. They also turned out to be shady then. He made a wrong statement. Let him know his place. As Galatasaray, we will not remain silent to such statements!
We believe in our fans, our coach and our players. “The league is long, but we will finish it in the final.”
He used his expressions.