Yüksel Yıldırım: We raised hands in Clubs Association, opposed TFF president

Samsunspor Club President Yüksel Yıldırım made important statements regarding the foreign player rule, a hot topic on the agenda, during a radio program he attended. Speaking on the Derin Pas program on Radyospor, Yıldırım shared details and surprise developments regarding the Clubs Association meeting with the public. Shedding light on a controversial issue in Turkish football and revealing divergences of views between clubs with his statements, Yıldırım drew attention to the paradoxes in the decision-making process. Stating both his own club's stance as Samsunspor president and painting the general picture, Yıldırım expressed that they experienced a bit of astonishment during the process.

According to the information provided by Yıldırım, at the Clubs Association meeting held last week, the participating clubs reached a large consensus. It was stated that all club representatives showed positive support by raising their hands to the 12 plus 5 foreign player rule proposal brought to the agenda at the meeting. However, this unanimous support was recorded only as a verbal stance rather than a written decision. Additionally, it was emphasized that the teams that had earned the right to compete in European cups had a great desire and request for the current system to change and the rule to be relaxed. Stating that Samsunspor was also among these requests, Yıldırım said that they supported the 12 plus 5 rule as is, and that they could even agree to the 12 plus 2 formula.

However, the expected change did not happen and the process encountered an unexpected obstacle. Yıldırım pointed to the phone calls made by Turkish Football Federation President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu as the main reason for the different outcome of the process, despite the positive atmosphere at the meeting. It was informed that Hacıosmanoğlu called the clubs one by one after the meeting and asked whether they wanted the rule to change or not. As a result of this phone survey, it was determined that among the 18 clubs that raised their hands at the meeting initially, there were 5 clubs that did not want the change to be made. This situation was characterized as a regression resulting from the feeling out by the federation president.

This surprising step back and the emerging opposing group of 5 clubs put the planned foreign player rule change on the shelf. According to Yıldırım's statements, it was decided as a result of Hacıosmanoğlu's investigation that the rule would not be 12+5, and the current situation was fixed at 10 plus 4. This revealed the fact that the picture formed after the phone calls was contrary to the consensus formed at the meeting. Samsunspor President Yıldırım noted with sadness that the verbal decision given at the meeting could not be implemented due to the individual interviews held later and the negative returns. As a result, the federation preferred to leave the regulation at 10+4 by also taking into account the view that remained in the minority.