Trabzonspor boss Fatih Tekke calls for fair refereeing against Ferencvarosi

Trabzonspor manager Fatih Tekke has called for fair officiating when his side face Ferencvarosi in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League qualifying tie on Thursday.

Trabzonspor travel to face Ferencvarosi at 21:30 local time, attempting to overturn a 1-0 deficit from last week’s first leg. Tekke criticised the refereeing in the opening match and said he hoped his team would not be affected by similar decisions again.

“We will do our very best to qualify for the UEFA Europa League, and I hope the refereeing performance will not be repeated as it was in the first leg,” Tekke said at his pre-match news conference.

Trabzonspor were beaten by a single goal in the first meeting, despite what their manager considered a strong display, particularly after the interval.

“We played well in the first game, and the second half was excellent, but we lost by one goal,” he added.

Ferencvarosi hold the advantage going into the return fixture, but Tekke said his squad had travelled fully prepared for the challenge.

“Our opponent certainly has the advantage in terms of the result, but we came here fully prepared,” he said.

The Trabzonspor manager expects Ferencvarosi to protect their lead and apply pressure high up the pitch as they try to control the tie.

“We expect our opponent to try to maintain their advantage. They may press strongly in advanced areas of the pitch, and the atmosphere could surprise us, but we are ready for everything. We will try not to give the opponent any opportunities from set-pieces and counter-attacks,” Tekke said.

He also warned his players against attempting to force the outcome too quickly. Tekke believes Ferencvarosi have players capable of punishing Trabzonspor if they become impatient in their search for a goal.

“If we play hurriedly and without patience in an attempt to score, the opponent has players capable of punishing us. We have one objective: to win every match, but I want the game to be fair,” he said.

Tekke acknowledged the quality of the opposition while insisting Trabzonspor were also capable of producing the performance required to progress.

“Our opponent is a team that deserves respect, and we, as Trabzonspor, are also a good team. Tomorrow’s match will be difficult. I hope we produce a performance that allows the deserving team to qualify for the UEFA Europa League. We strongly want to achieve that, and we will prove it tomorrow,” he added.

The manager also pointed to a physical advantage for Ferencvarosi, who did not play during the week and therefore had more time to recover.

“The physical advantage belongs to the opponent because they rested and did not play this week,” Tekke said.

Trabzonspor, meanwhile, come into the second leg after beating Basaksehir 2-1 on Sunday in the second round of the Turkish league.