No change in quota for foreign players: Turkish Football Federation

ISTANBUL

‘This year, six foreign players will be allowed on the pitch and four in the stands,’ says Football Federation chief Demirören about the foreign players quota. DHA Photo

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has turned down requests to allow more foreign players in squads for the coming season, while also rejecting demands to give EU citizens the right to play as non-foreigners.

Following a three-hour board meeting July 5, TFF chief Yıldırım Demirören said the federation would allow clubs to sign only 10 foreign players, with only six allowed in the 18-man squad for each match.
Seventeen Spor Toto Super League clubs - all those in the league except Fenerbahçe - had applied to the federation for the continuation of the current system, which allows the clubs to include eight foreigners in their match squad and six on the pitch.

“We announced the decision last year, and it was welcomed by the clubs at the time,” Demirören told a press conference in Istanbul. “Some board members agreed with the demand of the 17 clubs, but this year, six foreign players will be allowed on the pitch and four in the stands.”

Demirören also said an application by Galatasaray demanding no quota for EU citizen players was also rejected.

“Unfortunately, Turkey is not an EU member,” the former Beşiktaş chairman said. “We cannot do it.

Tomorrow the Africans will demand the same thing, then will come players of Muslim countries. There is already no quota on players from Turkic states. That’s why we turned the request down and we will stand by our decision.”

Galatasaray insistent

Galatasaray earlier said it would carry the case to the EU and the European Council if the TFF failed to deliver on the demand.

Many Turkish athletes, including Nihat Kahveci at Villareal and İbrahim Kutluay at Panathinaikos basketball club, enjoyed playing as European Union citizens, despite the fact that Turkey is still only in the accession process to join the EU as a member. In a written statement, Galatasaray called for a change to the TFF’s administration, criticizing its “strange mentality that holds Turkish football back very successfully.”