Mehmet Sepil, who held the majority of shares in Göztepe, who officially said goodbye to Spor Toto Süper Lig 3 weeks ago, and resigned from all his duties, including the chairmanship, made a statement. Meeting with members of the press at Gürsel Aksel Stadium, Sepil answered the questions that were asked.
Expressing that he left his job in March, Mehmet Sepil said, “Actually, my pursuit of a new fiction that will manage Göztepe together dates back to old times. Especially after the pandemic, I decided for 1 year; I believed that we had to make a management change in order to make Göztepe successful. and I thought it needed to change its shape. Again, I asked the question “We can’t bring foreign investors to Turkey. Nobody wanted to invest in football, which is constantly losing money and is managed viciously. However, Göztepe had many attractions against foreign investors. We are not an association, we are a club with a joint stock company. We are constantly We are not a club whose president has changed. The places where foreigners will come are clubs like us. We have a very good fan base. This is very important for foreign investors. There must be great excitement in the stands. Matches are played in empty stadiums where we hear what the players are talking about. There is no aspirant for such clubs in the world.” he said.
“THE MOST SERIOUS INVESTOR WAS DENMARK”
Stating that they manage Göztepe with a simple structure, Mehmet Sepil said, “We met with many funds from the world, many different countries, Europe and America. These negotiations are more professional and take longer. The most advanced of them was Danish businessman Rasmus Ankersen. Several times. They came to Turkey. They made detailed investigations. We couldn’t get any results in these conversations. The reason for this was our relegation. The main problem was the falling incomes in the Super League. I would have stayed in this system. No foreigners would enter 100 percent of it. I am 1 or 2 I was saying that I could stay president for the next year. There would be more partnerships. There was talk of a system where I would manage football and other branches where they would manage, but it did not happen. The fact that the broadcasting revenues, which started as 500 million dollars 5 years ago, decreased to 150 million dollars last year, the funds attracted the attention of Turkey and Göztepe. They followed closely how the tender results would turn out. Unfortunately, even below the money given in TL last year agreement will be made. I was on the commission, but we could not finalize the tender. They are in talks with the current broadcaster and we are waiting for it to be finished,” he said.
“I WAS GOING TO CHAOS IF I DID NOT LEFT EARLY”
Saying that he made the decision to leave in November, Mehmet Sepil said:
“It was not easy for me. I also made a statement in March. My colleagues also criticized me. They said that it was not right for me to take this decision while there was competition. With the end of this season, the ball will be kicked off in about 3 weeks. If I leave at the end of the league, he will manage Göztepe 3 weeks later. A new restructuring couldn’t be possible. We have to go through a process of change. 1st League clubs were the ones that suffered the least blow from the broadcasting tender. Super League teams have been taking the biggest blow for the last 2-3 years. Foreign investors withdrew from this business. 2 years later, they re-tendered I hope the world markets will be suitable when it is done. Life will be very difficult, when the numbers do not increase. If I had not made the decision to quit early, the club would have gone into more chaos. When you lose an air, it is necessary to start a fire. We tried everything to light this fire. We promised very high premiums on not falling. , it didn’t happen. Before the Giresunspor match, I was with the players and the technical team all week. Motivate the team together We tried to eat. No, we couldn’t get results. I’m not here to plead guilty.”
“ABRAMOVICH BALLOON IS OUT”
Describing the process, Sepil said, “There was interest from abroad, but the interest was mainly in Turkey. The Abramovich bubble broke out. It was first published in British newspapers. They read intentions. Abramovich spent a long time in Turkey, but his aim was not to take Göztepe. He was a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war. I’ve never met Abramovich. I just shook his hand during the Chelsea match in England. Then a bubble popped up in Turkey. They said, ‘Sepil, we’re getting along on Friday’. I was in America, 150 messages came. Everyone is asking about Abramovich. They didn’t believe it for 2 days. Then there was an interest dominated by Turkish companies. One day, when there is a candidate that I can accept, I introduce them to my fans and sign my contract that way. I haven’t signed with anyone at the moment. I guess everyone wants a club. Which one is serious, which one has financial conditions and which one is serious? It is necessary to see which one can do this job. If they are going to take over Göztepe, they will first convince me, then I have supporters, you will convince them too. I will hand over Göztepe with zero debt. I have money to pay at the end of the season, my transfers have payments. I don’t want to owe the club. Here’s what I talked to potential investors: I don’t have a file with FIFA, I have stipulated payments. We say we will hand over Göztepe as a debt-free club,” he said.
“I DO NOT REGRET THE MONEY I Spent”
Stating that he does not care about the money that will come to him, Sepil said, “I can get back a very funny part of the money I spent. I don’t think I will be able to cover the money I have put in for 8 years. I have never regretted spending this money. I have never regretted anything I did to this club. Don’t believe him if he says, ‘I talked to Sepil.’ I will not give the club to that man. We already signed a confidentiality agreement. There is no finished process at the moment, but there is a process that should be completed soon. There is the last Adana Demirspor match. There is a league game for us on Saturday. It’s over. We need to do the transfer work very quickly. When we look at the situation of football in Turkey, I have to believe that he will seriously manage Göztepe, which is my first priority. Criteria that can handle the financial work and make 2-3-year plans are needed. I am thinking of handing over football, I am willing to run other branches,” he said.
“THE ONLY I WISH IT WAS INFRASTRUCTURE”
Sepil stated that he did not even want to think about the possibility of not being transferred and commented, “My criteria are high. There will be transfers. I will call the board of directors to a meeting. I am not pessimistic about this. I definitely do not intend to stay in football.”
Continuing his words, Sepil said, “I was the president for 8 years. Of course, there are things I would say, ‘I wish I did’. No one knew me. I took over the club before June 14. I made the requests of our fans. The place where the football team should be is to be the best. There were 3 important situations in football. The first one will be your facilities. I would like to thank Altınbaş’s very much, if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be. We finished the Urla Adnan Süvari Facilities. It is one of the most modern facilities in Turkey. After that, the important thing for me was the Gürsel Aksel Stadium. I didn’t want a stadium in the city because we were losing a very important training place. But I realized that out-of-town stadiums are not wise because the inner-city stadium is very important for team spirit. Many presidents and foreigners said ‘Your stadium is Turkey’ They said, ‘It is the most beautiful stadium in Turkey. Unfortunately, we couldn’t build the infrastructure. While the municipalities and public institutions were building the infrastructure, we couldn’t do it in İzmir. To We couldn’t do a project that started in Rbalı. I wish the most important thing I can say is not being able to build the infrastructure on the land in Torbalı Pancar. Your new friend will be completely open. Negotiated with the municipality, the land was bought. Another wish is not to have a gym. I did my best with the installation. It was sad for me to leave the 1st League, not the Super League,” he said.
“THEY SAID ME PAIN”
Mehmet Sepil said, ‘The person who gives as much money from his pocket as I do in Turkey is Ali Koç,’ said Mehmet Sepil. There must be a team with zero debt for a team. In İzmir, someone from the outside has to give money to the clubs. The owner of Göztepe, of course, is the fans. We are passengers, they are the innkeeper. It was like that in my period, it will be the same for the new friend to come. Did I even say the opposite for one day? “They may not like my actions. The way we manage may not be liked. There is no one who has not been criticized from my friend who has worked with me for 8 years. We send many players like this,” he said.
“I HAVE NO INTENSION TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF TFF”
Explaining that football should be made from scratch in Turkey, Sepil used the following statements:
“The Turkish Football Federation, the Association of Clubs Foundation should be recreated. The Sports Law has been very positive. The first priority for me is Göztepe. I have no intention of being president of the TFF.”
“IF WE ARE RELEASED, IT IS MY MISTAKE”
Expressing that he is responsible for the team’s relegation, Sepil concluded his words as follows:
“If a team fell, it means we did some things wrong. I have the responsibility. Is the most important parameter that brings us down, is the player choices, the conjuncture caused by the pandemic, bad referee management, whether it is the fans who reacted to Berkan in the first match, there are many parameters. Like Robin Hood. We are fighting. For the last two years, I haven’t spared the time I spent for Göztepe for my work. But there is always an unhappy society in front of me. I turn the season with a campaign. It doesn’t feel right for me to come to the stands without realizing it. I think what is my job if you can’t combine what you have with your expectations in life. 500 Are we waiting for a thousand Euro left-back. 12 million dollars was taken from the pool 5 years ago, 3 million dollars will be taken this season. There were times when I was made a fool of. We can choose the wrong player. But everyone should see themselves when they look in the mirror. Okan Buruk and İlhan Palut They both cried when they left. The men left to protect me. I made the casting mistake, especially the casting I bought this year. I made a mistake in your bookmarks. I can easily say this. The price of this is to burden the players from the first day? Okan Buruk has left us. He made Akhisarspor the cup champion, İlhan Palut’s success is obvious. Did I send these? Football is over for me.”
