Beşiktaş chairman Orman draws ire of women with sexist remarks

ISTANBUL

Fikret Orman said hooligans were 'like girls' individually and could only 'show their manhood when they are in a group.' AA Photo

Beşiktaş chairman Fikret Orman has drawn the ire of women after using “girls” in a pejorative context to criticize a group of football hooligans.

Speaking about an attack by a group of fans against Beşiktaş board members following the team’s Turkish league win over Bursaspor on the night of Sept. 22, Orman said hooligans were “like girls” individually and could only “show their manhood when they are in a group.”

“It’s a disgrace. They only show their manhood in a group. When they are alone, they are like girls. I dare them to come at me one by one,” he added.

On Sept. 22, a group of Beşiktaş supporters attacked their own club’s board members while returning to Istanbul after the Super League match against Bursaspor.

After criticism of his remarks, the Beşiktaş chairman denied he was being sexist. “The press has taken my words and used them against me. Nobody should do that. I have two sisters and two daughters. I have never made discrimination,” Orman said.

“I was talking about those who are aggressive when in a group but more understanding when they are one on one,” he added.

Daily Hürriyet columnist Melis Alphan was among those who criticized Orman’s words.

“He is the chairman of a great sports club. He is expected to be an example; everything he says is news. It is unacceptable for a person like him to say ‘They are like girls.’ I don’t know if he is right in his slur, or not. And this is not the case,” Alphan wrote.  

“Education is not enough. We need to send most of this society’s men to a societal gender course. We women have had enough. We want men to use their intelligence, not just masculine language, when trying to prove they are right,” she wrote.