Two Turkish clubs square off over star player
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 10, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Despite being touted as one of the most skillful footballers of his generation, Kayserispor’s Mehmet Topuz had never made headlines before dribbling around two giant clubs in the past few days.
The Turkish midfielder has been in the center of a transfer saga, stuck between two bitter rivals, Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe, who began a war to sign him, and fueled debate on which parties have the power to work a transfer deal.
Beşiktaş seemed destined to purchase the player late Thursday, with the club announcing to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, or İMKB, late Thursday that it started talks with the player. Meanwhile, media reports suggested that the Black Eagles also agreed on terms with Topuz, who would later pose for the media with a Beşiktaş jersey. With the deal expected to wrap up, Kayserispor manager Süleyman Hurma argued Friday afternoon that Topuz’s transfer was not finalized.
"We haven’t given up on Mehmet Topuz yet; he is our player now. But if he wants to leave, we have our options open," said Hurma, signaling that a huge crisis was on the way. "We have not talked with Beşiktaş yet, and there is a very serious offer coming from Fenerbahçe." Only hours after Hurma spoke, Fenerbahçe went on to prove how serious it was, releasing a statement that it had agreed on terms with Kayserispor to purchase the rights to start contract talks with the player.
Topuz has still one year left on his contract with Kayseri, so legally, the route that Fenerbahçe followed was just, according to FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. The world football’s governing body rules state that players under contract are not allowed to make transfer talks without the club’s consent.
On the other hand, Beşiktaş claimed it also went by the book. The Black Eagles relied on quotes that Topuz was "a keen Beşiktaş fan since his childhood," and wanted to play for the club "no matter what."
"My stance is 100 percent clear, I am a Beşiktaş fan, and I want to wear that jersey next year," said the midfielder, who actually went one step further and said he would never play for another club other than Beşiktaş.
But if Fenerbahçe and Kayserispor keep being persistent on their deal, Topuz may have to sit through one year to end his remaining deal, again by FIFA regulations.
Previously, FIFA decided against a player who signed two contracts. In 1995, the world-famous Portuguese player Luis Figo was part of a dispute between Italian clubs Juventus and Parma after he signed contracts with both clubs, resulting in an Italian two-year transfer ban on Figo, effectively stopping any moves to Italy.
Beşiktaş believes that Fenerbahçe will not try to force a footballer to play reluctantly, but Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım did not back down.
"We didn’t give up on the deal," said Yıldırım, adding that Beşiktaş acted unethically.
Beşiktaş boss Yıldırım Demirören fought out of his corner even stronger after Topuz’s words. "If a player says he is a Beşiktaş fan, he is ours," he said. "Whoever tries to purchase him after that point is actually a loser."
Modern-day slavery
While the debate still heats up, Beşiktaş was preparing to play its "slavery" card. A popular argument in football, clubs usually blame the other for trying to implement "modern-day slavery" when the player is forced to play for a club he does not want to play for.
Last summer, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was under contract at Manchester United, accused his club of treating him like a slave, after it did not allow him to go to Spanish side Real Madrid. The English club made an official complaint to FIFA after becoming annoyed at several statements from Real officials indicating their desire to sign Ronaldo. But FIFA confirmed it would take no formal action.
Turkish football manager Tamer Lami Özbay said that if the clubs were to pay equal levels of compensation to the owner club, it becomes the player’s call, and opened a door for Beşiktaş to buy out Topuz’s contract, if it makes a deal with Kayseri that matches Fenerbahçe’s offer.
There were also claims that Beşiktaş board members "kidnapped" Topuz in order to prevent him from talking to other clubs, but the Progol Management, player’s management company denies the allegations.
The situation became even more complicated when Rıdvan Dilmen, a former Fenerbahçe player and manager, declared that Topuz had a Fener deal in mind prior to the chaotic week. He added that as a Fenerbahçe fan, he would not like to see Topuz playing for Fener, especially after he voiced his will to play for the club’s archrival. Fans seemed to agree with Dilmen, as a survey on Antu.com, the most popular Fener fans’ Web site, showed that 48.3 percent would not like to see Topuz at the Kadıköy club.
Beşiktaş seemed destined to purchase the player late Thursday, with the club announcing to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, or İMKB, late Thursday that it started talks with the player. Meanwhile, media reports suggested that the Black Eagles also agreed on terms with Topuz, who would later pose for the media with a Beşiktaş jersey. With the deal expected to wrap up, Kayserispor manager Süleyman Hurma argued Friday afternoon that Topuz’s transfer was not finalized.
"We haven’t given up on Mehmet Topuz yet; he is our player now. But if he wants to leave, we have our options open," said Hurma, signaling that a huge crisis was on the way. "We have not talked with Beşiktaş yet, and there is a very serious offer coming from Fenerbahçe." Only hours after Hurma spoke, Fenerbahçe went on to prove how serious it was, releasing a statement that it had agreed on terms with Kayserispor to purchase the rights to start contract talks with the player.
Topuz has still one year left on his contract with Kayseri, so legally, the route that Fenerbahçe followed was just, according to FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. The world football’s governing body rules state that players under contract are not allowed to make transfer talks without the club’s consent.
On the other hand, Beşiktaş claimed it also went by the book. The Black Eagles relied on quotes that Topuz was "a keen Beşiktaş fan since his childhood," and wanted to play for the club "no matter what."
"My stance is 100 percent clear, I am a Beşiktaş fan, and I want to wear that jersey next year," said the midfielder, who actually went one step further and said he would never play for another club other than Beşiktaş.
But if Fenerbahçe and Kayserispor keep being persistent on their deal, Topuz may have to sit through one year to end his remaining deal, again by FIFA regulations.
Previously, FIFA decided against a player who signed two contracts. In 1995, the world-famous Portuguese player Luis Figo was part of a dispute between Italian clubs Juventus and Parma after he signed contracts with both clubs, resulting in an Italian two-year transfer ban on Figo, effectively stopping any moves to Italy.
Beşiktaş believes that Fenerbahçe will not try to force a footballer to play reluctantly, but Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım did not back down.
"We didn’t give up on the deal," said Yıldırım, adding that Beşiktaş acted unethically.
Beşiktaş boss Yıldırım Demirören fought out of his corner even stronger after Topuz’s words. "If a player says he is a Beşiktaş fan, he is ours," he said. "Whoever tries to purchase him after that point is actually a loser."
Modern-day slavery
While the debate still heats up, Beşiktaş was preparing to play its "slavery" card. A popular argument in football, clubs usually blame the other for trying to implement "modern-day slavery" when the player is forced to play for a club he does not want to play for.
Last summer, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was under contract at Manchester United, accused his club of treating him like a slave, after it did not allow him to go to Spanish side Real Madrid. The English club made an official complaint to FIFA after becoming annoyed at several statements from Real officials indicating their desire to sign Ronaldo. But FIFA confirmed it would take no formal action.
Turkish football manager Tamer Lami Özbay said that if the clubs were to pay equal levels of compensation to the owner club, it becomes the player’s call, and opened a door for Beşiktaş to buy out Topuz’s contract, if it makes a deal with Kayseri that matches Fenerbahçe’s offer.
There were also claims that Beşiktaş board members "kidnapped" Topuz in order to prevent him from talking to other clubs, but the Progol Management, player’s management company denies the allegations.
The situation became even more complicated when Rıdvan Dilmen, a former Fenerbahçe player and manager, declared that Topuz had a Fener deal in mind prior to the chaotic week. He added that as a Fenerbahçe fan, he would not like to see Topuz playing for Fener, especially after he voiced his will to play for the club’s archrival. Fans seemed to agree with Dilmen, as a survey on Antu.com, the most popular Fener fans’ Web site, showed that 48.3 percent would not like to see Topuz at the Kadıköy club.