Trabzonspor President slams referees ahead of the match

News Summary

Trabzonspor President Ertuğrul Doğan voiced a strong reaction to refereeing errors ahead of the Gençlerbirliği match. Saying "Change your stance," Doğan called for European-standard refereeing.

News Details

Trabzonspor President Ertuğrul Doğan criticized refereeing errors ahead of the upcoming match against Gençlerbirliği.

"Years pass in Turkish football; teams, board members, squads, and investments change. VAR is introduced, technology advances, and new standards are discussed in every area of football. Yet only one thing remains unchanged: Refereeing errors.

Although we are only at the start of the season, the fact that referee performances have once again become the most important agenda item in Turkish football clearly demonstrates how deep-rooted and serious the systemic problem is.

We cannot ignore the efforts that Turkish Football Federation President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu has made for the development of referees since taking office. While the TFF President's sensitivity on this matter is evident, the fact that the current refereeing staff still falls short clearly shows the structural dimension of the problem.

Starting from the first week of the season, the critical decisions given against our team in the Kasımpaşa, Başakşehir, and Amedspor matches have now gone far beyond what can be explained by the word "error".

It is impossible for us to accept a system where incorrect on-pitch decisions are not rectified by VAR, where VAR remains silent in incidents requiring intervention, and where even the basic rules of football are interpreted differently in different matches.

As Trabzonspor Club, we have very important goals we wish to achieve this season. Our community is putting up a great fight in line with these goals.

We will not remain silent while this effort is overshadowed by unacceptable referee decisions.

Turkish football now needs referees who are trained to European standards, physically and mentally competent, capable of making the right decisions under pressure, and who fully master the rules of football.

Likewise, it is an absolute necessity that those serving in VAR rooms consist of competent individuals who do not interpret incidents, but apply the rules thoroughly and can correct clear errors by the referee on the pitch when necessary.

Trabzonspor has no time to lose. Nor does Turkish football have any patience left.

Key Information

• Clubs involved: Trabzonspor, Gençlerbirliği
• News type: Football
• Certainty: The source did not provide a statement regarding the official status of the development.

Source

This news has been compiled from information obtained from the Sözcü source (published: 6 September 2026 16:56).

Original news: Sözcü