Beşiktaş still boiling after derby defeat: “Scrap VAR”
The dust has far from settled at Beşiktaş after their 1-0 home defeat to Galatasaray in week 25 of the Süper Lig. Rather than debating tactics or missed chances, the conversation in Istanbul is dominated by referee decisions and the ever-controversial VAR system. From players to club executives, the Black Eagles are united in their anger – and one of the most radical reactions has come from Beşiktaş vice-president Hakan Daltaban, who openly called for the abolition of VAR.
A derby lost, a controversy ignited
The match at Vodafone Park ended with Galatasaray securing a 1-0 victory, a result that deepened Beşiktaş’s ongoing derby woes this season. On paper, it was just another tight scoreline in a high-pressure encounter. On the pitch, however, almost every crucial moment was overshadowed by referee decisions and VAR interventions – or, as Beşiktaş argue, the lack of correct ones.
Both clubs released consecutive statements after the final whistle, but the tone and focus differed sharply. While Galatasaray highlighted their resilience after playing long minutes with 10 men, Beşiktaş emphasized what they see as a pattern of critical errors in big games, particularly in derbies.
Hakan Daltaban: “End the VAR era”
Beşiktaş’s second president Hakan Daltaban put his frustration into a blunt proposal: remove VAR from Turkish football altogether. According to him, the system is not bringing clarity but instead deepening suspicions and tension.
Daltaban’s argument is not just about a single match. Inside the club, there is a growing belief that video technology, which was meant to minimize mistakes, is either being applied inconsistently or not used when it matters most for Beşiktaş. The call to “lift VAR” is a symbolic way of saying: if this technology cannot guarantee fairness and transparency, then it does more harm than good.
A painful derby pattern for Beşiktaş
The Galatasaray defeat has become another chapter in what local media describe as Beşiktaş’s “derby torment.” Critical points are slipping away in big matches, and the club’s supporters see a recurring theme: controversial decisions at the worst possible time.
Whether it’s disallowed goals, penalties not awarded, or card decisions that shift the balance of the game, Beşiktaş feel they are repeatedly on the wrong side of the whistle. The 1-0 loss to Galatasaray is now held up as yet another example that fuels the narrative of a club battling not only its opponent, but also the officiating.
Ersin Destanoğlu: “Incredible, I can’t make sense of it”
Goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu voiced the players’ bewilderment after the final whistle. Visibly frustrated, he described the events as “incredible” and admitted he could not understand many of the decisions made on the pitch.
For players, the main complaint is the lack of consistency: similar challenges are punished differently, and the line between what is reviewed by VAR and what is left to the main referee often seems blurred. Destanoğlu’s reaction captured the mood in the dressing room – not just disappointment with the result, but a deeper feeling of injustice.
President leaves the stadium before full-time
The tension around Beşiktaş’s leadership was underlined by a striking scene: the club president left the stands before the match had even finished. This gesture, widely interpreted as a protest, highlighted how emotionally charged the situation has become at board level.
Walking out early is rare for a club president, especially in such a high-profile derby. For Beşiktaş supporters, it was a vivid sign that the management has lost patience not only with the team’s performance, but above all with the decisions that shaped the outcome of the game.
“What more needs to happen?”
In its official reaction, Beşiktaş essentially asked a pointed question: “What more needs to happen?” The statement reflected the belief that the limit has been reached regarding referee mistakes and their impact on the season.
The club argues that when a series of key decisions consistently go against the same team, it ceases to be mere coincidence. The demand is clear: they want accountability from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) and the Central Refereeing Committee (MHK), along with concrete steps to ensure more balanced and transparent officiating in future matches.
Galatasaray’s angle: “110 minutes with 10 men”
On the opposite side, Galatasaray also left the match with complaints of their own. The yellow-reds pointed out that they played an incredible 110 minutes in total with 10 men, emphasizing their physical and mental resilience in such a demanding derby.
The club announced that it would file an objection with the TFF, focusing on the way the match was managed and the distribution of cards. From their perspective, the red card and subsequent referee decisions forced them into survival mode for the majority of the game. Even in victory, Galatasaray insist they were the victims of harsh treatment.
Abdülkerim Bardakcı’s costly moment
Defender Abdülkerim Bardakcı found himself at the center of Galatasaray’s internal criticism. His action – which led to a major turning point in the match – was described as “setting Galatasaray on fire.” Whether it was a challenge that resulted in a dismissal or a major defensive error, it drastically changed the team’s game plan and left them under intense pressure.
Within the club, the incident has sparked debate about concentration and decision-making in critical moments. For Galatasaray, even in games they win, individual errors are dissected in detail because they know similar mistakes in Europe or in a title-deciding fixture might not go unpunished.
Okan Buruk’s broadside at TFF and MHK
Head coach Okan Buruk did not limit his comments to the 90 minutes. In his post-match remarks, he broadened the discussion, criticizing both the TFF and the MHK. Buruk questioned the level of refereeing in the league and the criteria used to assign officials to such high-stakes fixtures.
According to him, Turkish football cannot progress if refereeing performances continue to be at the center of attention after almost every big game. He demanded long-term structural reforms rather than short-term punishments or cosmetic changes, arguing that trust in the competition is eroding week by week.
Sergen Yalçın: “Galatasaray won, but this was a bit comical”
Former Beşiktaş coach Sergen Yalçın also entered the debate, adding a sharper, more ironic note. Commenting on the match, he acknowledged that Galatasaray won but described the circumstances as “a bit comical.”
Yalçın’s words reflect a broader sentiment that what fans and analysts are watching is starting to move away from normal football logic. When refereeing and VAR overshadow tactics, player form, and managerial decisions, the competition risks becoming, in his view, almost a parody of itself.
Torreira, signals, and the mental side of the derby
Lucas Torreira’s behavior during and after the game drew attention as well. Observers noted that he “sent a signal” – through gestures, reactions, or words – that expressed his own discontent with the officiating. The phrase “What more should he say?” has been used to sum up how clearly he hinted at his frustration without going into explicit verbal attacks.
In derby matches, the psychological aspect is as important as the tactical one. When players feel that the rules are not applied evenly, their emotional control cracks faster. This leads to more fouls, more protests, and an even more difficult job for the referee, creating a vicious cycle that feeds new controversies.
Strange statistics and the bigger picture for Galatasaray
Amid all the chaos, a peculiar statistic regarding Galatasaray has also been circulating: a pattern in their recent matches that raises eyebrows about how often their games involve red cards, long added times, or VAR-dominated decisions. While numbers alone do not prove bias, they do help fuel perception – and in football, perception can be almost as powerful as reality.
From Galatasaray’s perspective, these stats are used to underline how much adversity they claim to have overcome. From the Beşiktaş camp, the same numbers are interpreted as evidence that something is fundamentally off in how matches are being controlled.
Beşiktaş’s derby curse and future implications
For Beşiktaş, this latest defeat intensifies a season-long problem: failing to deliver in derbies. Losing critical points against traditional rivals not only hurts the standings but also damages morale and undermines any sense of progress.
If the club cannot reverse this trend, it risks falling behind in the race for European spots and losing ground in long-term planning. Management knows that a team judged by its derby performance must eventually break this negative cycle, both on the pitch and in its relationship with officials.
Refereeing crisis: technology without trust
The core of the current storm is not just one referee or one match. Turkish football is facing a deeper officiating crisis, where the introduction of VAR has not been accompanied by enough transparency and communication. When fans and clubs do not understand why certain incidents are reviewed and others ignored, suspicion grows.
For VAR to work, it must be applied with clear, consistent standards and explained openly. Without that, as Daltaban suggests, technology simply adds another layer of confusion. The idea of “scrapping VAR” captures the frustration of those who feel that the system has failed to deliver its promise of fairness.
What needs to change?
In the short term, both Beşiktaş and Galatasaray are pushing for concrete responses from the TFF and MHK: detailed reports on referee performances, possible suspensions or downgrades, and clearer guidelines on VAR usage. Clubs want to know why specific decisions were made – or not made – in the derby and what will be done to prevent similar controversies.
In the long term, experts argue that Turkish football needs a full review of its refereeing education, selection, and evaluation systems. Psychological support, better fitness preparation, and international exchanges with other leagues could help raise standards. Without restoring basic trust, every major match risks turning into a new polemic rather than a sporting spectacle.
Beyond Beşiktaş-Galatasaray: a league on edge
The tension is not limited to this one fixture. Across the Süper Lig, from title contenders to mid-table and relegation-threatened clubs, there is a common theme: constant complaints about officiating. When “the winner protests and the loser protests,” as some observers put it, the issue stops being about isolated mistakes and becomes systemic.
For the league’s image, this is dangerous. Sponsors, broadcasters, and international audiences want to see a competition decided primarily by football quality, not referee headlines. If every round ends in heated debates about VAR and red cards, the product itself suffers.
The road ahead
In the coming weeks, all eyes will be on how the federation responds. Will there be structural moves to improve refereeing and clarify VAR protocols, or will the derby be treated as just another noisy episode to be forgotten when the next matchweek begins?
For Beşiktaş, the emotional demand to “remove VAR” may not turn into actual policy, but it sends a powerful message: faith in the system is dangerously low. Rebuilding that faith will require more than statements and apologies. It will demand visible, consistent reforms – otherwise, the anger from this derby will simply roll into the next one, and Turkish football will keep circling around the same storm.