OPINION: Turkish football culture is at an all-time low and it's not getting any better

If you don't have a vested interest in Turkish football and you are seeing events unfold from the outside in, you probably think it's all rather embarrassing.

But believe me, if you are watching everything occur from the inside, it's all the more embarrassing.

What we should be talking about and admiring is the historic title race between fierce Istanbul rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. The two giants have become formidable outfits, and are in a titanic two-way tussle for the title, winning pretty much every single week. Both teams could realistically end the season with a mammoth 100 points each.

Instead, we are talking about other issues.

Turkey is famous for its overly dramatic soap operas, and that seems to have seeped into football too.

I'm Turkish and have followed football in the country for as long as I can remember. One of the greatest attributes of Turkish people and something we should all be proud of is their passion and emotion, and how much they adore their football clubs.

European nights in Turkey are a prime example of this. Fans will turn up hours before a match, creating the most electric, hostile atmosphere. The term '12th man' couldn't ring more true.

Everyone knows about the meeting between Galatasaray and Manchester United back in 1993.

United arrived in Turkey, were greeted by fans at the airport holding banners and swarming the players, and their lives were made a nightmare right through until the match itself.

'Welcome to hell' - a phrase on one banner which is remembered to this very day.

The game itself was a baptism of fire for many United players, who have spoken numerous times about how they never experienced an atmosphere like it.

The game ended in a 0-0 draw, which saw Galatasaray progress after a 3-3 draw in the first leg.

But unfortunately, if you have an emotional group of people, behaviour isn't always positive and often volatile. Feelings are fickle.

The UEFA Cup semi-final violence in 2000 between Galatasaray and Leeds fans is an example of that, where two fans of the latter were stabbed to death.

And now in 2024, Turkish football has become a parody of itself. All the passion and emotions have turned negative. Anger and delusion have instead taken over.

So where to begin?

Really, it's been ongoing since the start of the season.

There is a strong belief throughout the entirety of Turkey that referees are inept. That they are not good enough. That they are completely failing at their jobs.

The same sentiments can be heard in England. Every week you see managers complaining, pundits complaining, and fans complaining.

But it never goes beyond complaining. In Turkey, things have well and truly passed boiling point. 

My personal opinion on referees is they aren't as bad as many make out. They are making some silly errors that should be cut out and they're far from perfect, but a lot of the time fans are just unhappy that a 50/50 decision hasn't gone their way.

I think the big issue is VAR. It certainly hasn't helped how we perceive referees. Fans are suddenly expecting perfection in an imperfect game.

So now, people are no longer just complaining about referees. They are acting out.

In December, there were truly shocking scenes as Ankaragucu President Faruk Koca was banned from football after marching onto the pitch and punching referee Halil Umut Meler. He was incensed by some of the referee's decisions which saw Rizespor score a 97th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot.

The referee - who is an elite UEFA referee - in fact had a good game, and got all the decisions correct.

Around two weeks later, Istanbulspor's President Ecmel Faik Sarialioglu came onto the pitch and instructed his side to walk off with 15 minutes to go after not being awarded a penalty.

Again, the referee had made the correct decision. It was never a penalty.

But that's the problem. The culture within Turkish football means it is now acceptable to not just criticise referees, but take physical action.

But even the verbal criticism has taken a turn.

The Turkish Football Federation and referee committee are sensationally being accused of being corrupt and manipulating results on purpose.

To be clear, everyone in Turkey is doing this. Fans, managers, club Presidents, and even pundits on television are getting in on the act.

Imagine Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports saying that the head of Premier League referees Howard Webb and those at the Football Association are unscrupulous!

It has got particularly venomous between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. The official social media accounts and people involved with the clubs will publicly state their anger at the 'corruption' after a game their rival wins via a penalty or a decision that has gone their way.

Fenerbahce and their President Ali Koc have seemingly lost the plot with it all.

I can understand Ali Koc's anger following events a few weeks ago at Trabzonspor when fans stormed the pitch following the match and engaged in a mass brawl with the Fenerbahce players.

Having his players be put in potential danger and not being protected well enough is a genuine cause for concern, and the TFF must do better to protect them. Someone could have been seriously hurt on another day.

Unfortunately, this was another example of Turkish fans crossing the line from positive emotion to negative emotion.

However, Ali Koc used this incident to paint a picture that his club have been victimised for years, and they've been unfairly treated by the 'corrupt' TFF.

Last weekend, Fenerbahce faced Galatasaray in the rescheduled Turkish Super Cup after it was postponed back in December.

Instead of fielding his strongest team in the highly-anticipated clash, he sent out the Under-19s, and the players walked off the field after a minute, following Mauro Icardi's quick-fire opener for Galatasaray.

Why? He was unhappy that the match was rescheduled for the weekend prior to their Europa Conference League quarter-final against Olympiacos. Big deal.

"Our rebellion today, our stance in the Super Cup, is not only about the date of the match or what happened in the last away match," Ali Koc in a statement.

"It is time for a 'reset' for Turkish football. We are in a period when the swamp must be drained and Turkish football must rebuild itself. There's no need to reinvent the wheel.

"I hope that the justified rebellions of our club and the actions we decided to take out of necessity will ignite the cleansing process that needs to be done.

"This is the time when impartiality, fair competition and sporting ethics must come to the fore."

Mind-boggling. But there is a reason for it.

The Fenerbahce Presidential elections are this summer, and during his six-year tenure, he has failed to win their 20th Super Lig title - something they have desperately craved. They have overall gone 10 years without winning the league.

He knows he seriously risks losing his position as President, so if he creates a narrative that they are the victims and have been unfairly treated, he can divert the blame and move the attention away from the club's failure. 

They have had chances over the years to win the league, but have often crumbled in crunch time. That's the real story.

They've even held club meetings and threatened to leave the league unless things change. An empty threat, yes, but it shows the mindset of the club nonetheless.

Now I'm just not sure how or when it gets better.

The TFF announced yesterday that they would employ foreign referees in the VAR booth from now until the end of the season, in an attempt to keep some of the criticism quiet. It's remarkable that it has even come to that.

But for me, all eyes are on May 19th.

Galatasaray host Fenerbahce in the penultimate game of the season. In all likelihood, that could be a title decider.

As if that game needed more or the line already. There is already incredible hatred between the clubs, and every match-up is fiery beyond belief - on the pitch and in the stands.

But one team has to lose. One team potentially has to lose the league title that day.

I fear the repercussions.

Will we see similar scenes among the fans similar to those that occurred in Trabzon?

What will the losing club say afterwards? What will their reaction be? What accusations will be spewed?

The way Fenerbahce are behaving, something drastic could be on the cards from their end.

All this is an awful look for Turkish football. A proud footballing nation. A league which possessed great players like Gheorghe Hagi, Alex de Souza, Didier Drogba, Wesley Sneijder and Claudio Taffarel has become a laughing stock.

It's a sad state of affairs. Somehow things need to get back on track, but the disconnect between the people in power and the rest is just far too large at the moment. And I don't see that shrinking any time soon.