Capital offenses, capital scandal!

  Turkish soccer loves its rows.  At least, we scribbling troublemakers -- sorry, representatives of the esteemed third estate -- love them.  They brighten up our dull lives of humble toil.  The game is never short of a row or two. Recently, for instance, Soccer Federation President Levent Bicakci brought together directors of the Istanbul Big Three clubs and Trabzonspor over a meal in an effort to stop them saying nasty things about each other.  President Bicakci's initiative was stunningly successful.  Everybody kissed and made up and promised to be nice in the future -- and the directors of the clubs concerned have gone on trashing one another as usual ever since. During the past week a 'heated debate' has been going on which, because it does not involve Istanbul but Ankara, has made smaller headlines but has featured some of the strongest language we have ever seen used in public.  This all started with Monday's dismissal of Yilmaz Vural as coach of Ankaragucu.  Here is part of an official statement about the matter from the club:  "Yilmaz Vural is from Sakarya.  One or two days before the Sakaryaspor game, without any authorization from the club he held a meeting over a meal with a group of Sakarya people.  "He attacked players physically and verbally in a manner which has never been seen before in Ankaragucu's history and which we strongly condemn.  "While the Besiktas match was being played, he provided extremely ugly pictures on television and in the light of these pictures, the fans, whom he is now trying to hide behind, demanded his dismissal from the club.  "After the Besiktas match he stayed in Istanbul and did not even watch a very important match played by our (next) opponents at Ankara's 19 Mayis Stadium and his private life, which we never encouraged, reflected negatively on our club.  "In consideration of these reasons, the board of directors terminated the employment of Yimaz Vural in the belief that he has nothing at all to offer not only to the Ankaragucu club but to Turkish sport."  For reasons to do with the structure of formal (!) Turkish, that is a fairly free translation and we will stand by it if anybody at Ankaragucu wants to argue.

Facts:  Ankaragucu lost 7-2 at home to Sakaryaspor.  Yilmaz Vural was shown on television punching Jean-Emmanuel Effa Owana, one of two players sent off.  He has also admitted to attacking the other, Adem Dursun. 

Ankaragucu went on to lose 4-1 away to Besiktas and 5-2 against neighbor Ankaraspor last Sunday.  Those are the facts as we know them.  We do not know who Vural may have eaten his lunch with.  We certainly do not know what it is about his private life that has so negatively affected the honor of Ankaragucu. 

As for 'ugly pictures' on television, surely that is a matter of opinion.  But we have to emphasize one thing.  This monster of depravity was not dismissed after the Sakarya game or even after the Besiktas match.  The Ankaragucu board waited until Monday by which time he had, it seems, committed more crimes than the entire Borgia family put together.

Reply:  Vural had his reply ready.  "My service to Turkish sport cannot be erased by slander on a piece of paper," he said.  "This way of talking is not appropriate to such a great club.  The charges against me are baseless.  I went to Ankaragucu with a philosophy of friendship and service.  However, in a panic, the board is trying to deflect attention to me by blaming me for its own failure.  Did I sell the (Sakarya) game?  Did I have players sent off? Did I tell them to collect cards deliberately?"  He concluded, "I will not descend to their level."

'Going nowhere':  Some would say he had already done so.  We would not have heard so much vituperation from the Ankaragucu board if Vural had taken his dismissal quietly.  He does have plenty of experience of being fired in his lengthy career. On this occasion he provoked the club's reaction by issuing a press release. 

We have already reported this, but to recap the release claimed that Vural had told chairman Cemal Aydin before the Ankaraspor match that he would resign unless an end was put to the 'hegemony' of a clique within the club.  He named captain Hakan Kutlu, goalkeeper Zafer Ozgultiken, Adem Dursun, team manager Abdullah Aktug and advisor Seyit Kalender. 

"With this chairman, this team manager and certain gossip-mongering personnel within it, Ankaragucu is going nowhere," he claimed.  A couple more quotes from the press release which we have not used before: "The truth is it was not me the honorable Ankaragucu fans invited to resign.  It was Cemal Aydin."  And: "The only branch Ankaragucu has left to cling to is its honorable fans."  Hence the board's allegation that Vural is now trying to shelter behind the supporters.

Sub-row:  As if all this mutual slagging were not enough, chairman Aydin came up with a sub-row by accusing Melih Gokcek of trying to have Ankaragucu relegated.  Melih Gokcek is the Mayor of Ankara and also honorary chairman of Ankaraspor which is the team of the Greater Ankara Municipality.  Do not let the 'honorary chairman' tag fool you. 

As a result of a legal amendment introduced last year, Melih Gokcek is no longer permitted to combine the posts of mayor and club chairman.  But it is he who calls the shots at Ankaraspor whose actual chairman Hilmi Gokcinar is a figurehead. 

 "Melih Gokcek has the duty of maintaining an equal distance from the three (Super League) clubs in Ankara," said Cemal Aydin.  "We feel that he wants very much for Ankaragucu to go down.  He knows himself what he said about Genclerbirligi chairman Ilhan Cavcav.  He should explain that.  Ankaragucu is asking for an accounting.  His power is not enough to have us relegated." 

Mr. Aydin, Melih Gokcek may know what he said about Ilhan Cavcav.  We do not.  Please enlighten us.  Perhaps irrelevantly, we would like to remind chairman Aydin of what 'power' it was that put Ankaragucu where it is today.  That was none other than President Kenan Evren, leader of the 1980 military takeover. 

After Ankaragucu won the Turkish Cup in 1981 but failed to win promotion from the second division, President Kenan Evren publicly declared his opinion that the Cup holder ought to be in the top flight.  Sure enough the Soccer Federation passed a quick regulatory amendment stating that the Cup winner must play in the first division and Ankaragucu has been there ever since.

Ear and mouth disconnection:  But back to the slanging match for Melih Gokcek's reply to Cemal Aydin. He commented that it was a great misfortune for Ankaragucu, a club with a 100-year history, to have a person like Cemal Aydin in charge and continued, "Nobody wants Ankaragucu relegated.  Everybody should know his place and he should weigh his words.  Were we supposed to fix the match so that we lost?  He should not blame his own incompetence on other teams.  His ears do not hear what comes out of his mouth."  Our ears have heard enough of what has come out of everybody's mouths on this one but no doubt there will be more.  We media scum -- sorry, esteemed members of the third estate -- are at times accused of inventing news in order to make sensational headlines.  Readers, we promise you we would not have dared to invent some of the remarks quoted above!