By Mark Baber
January 15 – Murat Ülker, the chairman of Yıldız Holding, the major sponsor of the Turkish national team, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce has written to the Turkish Football Federation saying his company, which has ploughed $215 million into football in the last nine years, will no longer be supporting Turkish football.
In remarks to Habertürk, Ülker explained the decision saying, “Violence, fighting and tension have become associated with the game. The brand value of football has dramatically decreased and matches have lost their attractiveness, with stadiums being empty and the overall atmosphere not matching with the concept of fair play.”
Ülker, whose company is known for its conservative values and closeness to Turkish President Erdogan, did not shy away from blaming the Passolig fan registration system saying: “I can’t help but envy the football audience in England and Germany. I feel sorry for my country. In Europe, even for the games of teams in Winter, thousands of people go. I recently went to a game in England. It was mind blowing; I truly enjoyed it. We cannot see this in Turkey. We shouldn’t curtail the joy of [Turkish] football enthusiasts.
“The Passolig system could be more flexible. Nobody wants their personal information to be tracked, even by the state; it is disturbing. We should mull over why the tribunes are empty.
“We are apologetically withdrawing our support, including from the Turkish national team. I have declared this to the TFF in a letter. Through sponsorship, we had intended to improve Turkish football and its infrastructure, to have more good players. We wanted Turkey to be one of the best in Europe and even in the world. However, at this point, we have been disappointed.”
The Passolig system requires fans to sign up to and provide their personal data to the Aktif Bank owned by Calik Holding, a commercial bank until recently run by Recep Erdogan’s son-in-law, before being allowed to purchase match-day tickets.
Unsurprisingly the system has met widespread resistance from fan groups who see it as a form of social control, a way of enriching the President’s favoured circle and an abuse of their human rights. The sense that the Erdogan government and its allies have essentially declared war on Turkish fan culture is of course strengthened by the ongoing proceedings against fans involved in the Gezi Park protests who are still facing terms of life imprisonment for “terrorism”.
The majority of fan groups are expected to remain firm in their boycott of the Passolig system, at least until June when the issue will be considered by Turkey’s constitutional court as a possible violation of the right to privacy of personal data given that the bank involved has access to supporter’s national identity data, bank accounts and other private data which is shared with police, football authorities and even for sale commercially.
In the meantime, Turkish clubs are facing massive falls in matchday revenues and difficulties attracting sponsorship, with the only winners being third division sides, outside the Passolig system, some of whom are now amongst the best attended clubs in Turkey.
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