July 15 – Turkey’s Servet Yardımcı is reported to be quitting UEFA’s executive committee after withdrawing as a candidate for the Turkish FA presidency.
According to news reports in Turkey, Yardımcı (pictured) was due to meet with UEFA officials on the sidelines of the Euro 24 final in Berlin to explain his decision.
Yardimci has been an influential member of the UEFA executive committee since 2017 but said that during the Turkish presidency race he had been “subjected to a dirty operation full of slanders that will never match with my character and upbringing.”
“After the Turkish Football Federation’s decision to hold extraordinary elections on July 18, 2024, I decided to run for the presidency in order to mobilise the knowledge and experience I gained in Turkish football and UEFA management to establish a clean, transparent, and institutional structure in our football,” he was quoted as saying.
“During my more than seven years of duty at UEFA, I played a critical role in bringing the 2019 Super Cup final, the 2023 Champions League final to crown our Republic’s and TFF’s 100th year, the 2026 UEFA Europa League final, the 2027 UEFA Conference League final to our country, organizing numerous meetings and events in Turkey, winning the hosting of the Euro 2032 European Football Championship that we will jointly organize with Italy, obtaining participation permits for our clubs in European cups, and hundreds of other issues and cases.”
“Although my biggest goal and dream is to bring the knowledge I gained in Turkish football and UEFA to our country and ensure that Turkish Football achieves the brand value it deserves, I have been subjected to a dirty operation full of slanders that will never match with my character and upbringing, with what I have done and my experiences.
“After announcing my candidacy for the TFF presidency, the conspiracy initiated by the notorious dirty structure, in order to maintain the current system, targets me, the Yardımcı family from Rize, and the people who set out with me, in a way that is completely incompatible with their past and morality, with lies, slanders, and conspiracies.”
“My family upbringing, manners, and the way I was raised will never allow me to stand against such a dirty order and let the people who believe in me and set out with me face conspiracies. Facing such an operation in order to maintain a football structure that is demanded to change by all segments of Turkey is a big problem for our entire football family.
“Although we still have enough signatures and support to win the election, I respectfully announce … that I have withdrawn from my candidacy for the TFF presidency and my positions as a member of the UEFA Executive Committee and the President of the UEFA European National Federations Committee, which I have held for seven years.”
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