Besiktas condemn ‘disgraceful’ refereeing after Alanyaspor defeat

Besiktas have described the refereeing in their 1-0 Turkish league defeat by Alanyaspor as a “disgrace” and criticised match official Adnan Deniz Kayatepe over a series of controversial decisions.

The Istanbul club issued a strongly worded statement after Sunday evening’s match, which Alanyaspor won by a single goal in the second round of the Turkish league season.

Besiktas accused Kayatepe of adding “another shameful performance” to his record and linked his display to his previous involvement in last season’s Turkish Cup semi-final.

“An embarrassment in the history of Turkish refereeing,” the club said in its statement.

Besiktas added: “Referee Adnan Deniz Kayatepe added another disgraceful performance to his record, continuing his previous approach as if nothing had changed, following his scandalous decisions in last year’s Turkish Cup semi-final.”

The club were beaten 1-0 by Konyaspor in that semi-final, conceding from a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Besiktas list disputed incidents

In its latest statement, Besiktas highlighted several incidents from the Alanyaspor match and criticised both the referee and the VAR officials.

“A player from the opposing team slapped the player – Trossard – in front of everyone; nevertheless, the referee did not see the incident, while the VAR referee, Bulent Birincioglu, remained silent,” the club said.

Besiktas also claimed that a goal scored by Oh Hyeon-gyu was wrongly disallowed.

“Oh Hyeon-gyu managed to escape his opponent’s marking during a physical challenge and scored a goal, but the referee disallowed it simply because the opposing player threw himself to the ground theatrically,” the statement said.

The club then referred to an incident involving Vlahovic, saying: “The player – Vlahovic – was brought down while attempting to enter the penalty area, but once again the referee ignored the incident.”

Besiktas said the incidents formed part of a wider pattern and called for changes to the refereeing system in Turkey.

“We completely reject the appointment of referees who lack integrity to officiate our matches in the future,” the club said. “We are not seeking special advantages or privileges; we are only demanding fair and equal refereeing. We will continue our legitimate fight with determination and persistence until this unjust system changes.”

The defeat leaves Besiktas 11th in the Turkish league table with three points from their opening two matches. Alanyaspor secured the victory with a 1-0 result, while Besiktas now face continued scrutiny over both their early-season form and their public dispute with the officials.