Besiktas consider Europa withdrawal

Besiktas president Yildirim Demiroren says Turkish clubs may stop competing in Europe to help rid the country’s football of corruption.

Istanbul club Besiktas successfully qualified for the knock-out stages of this season’s Europa League, but are one of several teams embroiled in a match-fixing scandal plaguing football in the country.

Along with calling for solidarity to meet the issue of corruption head on, Demiroren has also mooted the idea of abandoning participation in continental competition if necessary.

“We should … unite to tackle this problem as a whole,” Demiroren told Aksam.

“We must make our decisions and wait for the judicial process to end. Let the judges decide on the case.”

“No Turkish teams will participate in the European competitions, if that is necessary.”

Seemingly contradicting his call for unity, Demiroren went on to cast suspicion on Galatasaray, a club yet to be implicated in the scandal.

“Galatasaray … are they whiter than white? Are they not a part of Turkish sport? Let’s get real,” he said.

Demiroren spoke out in favour of Turkish Football Federation president Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, who has been under pressure to quit as the scandal continues.

“He is a perfect man and has every good intention,” Demiroren said.