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The 67 th  season of the Super League has started. In this season, we are experiencing both positive and negative developments in our football.   First of all, let's focus on the issues that will have a positive impact on our football season.     I. POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL AFFECT THIS SEASON FOR TURKISH FOOTBALL    1. Türkiye is in 9 th  place in the UEFA rankings.   Our country ranking, which dropped to 20 th  place in 2022, is in 9 th  place with 38,600 points as of 2024. Accordingly, we will send 2 teams to the Champions League, 2 teams to the Europa League and 1 team to the Conference League.   Our country's rise to 9 th  place in UEFA means that we can send our champion directly to the Champions League. The second place team will be able to go to the Champions League by playing two qualifying rounds.   2. Pool Revenues Will Increase in the Super League in 2024/25   With the new broadcasting tender held in 2024, the broadcasting rights sales price of the Super League for the 2024-25 season was determined as 182 million dollars. The pool revenues distributed to the clubs in the 2023-24 season were 74.6 million dollars at the average exchange rate. The remaining amount, after the Turkish Football Association (TFA) share is deducted and paid to the lower leagues in 2024-25, will be distributed to the Super League clubs. Following the conclusion of the new broadcasting tender, the bonus that the team that will be the champion in the new season will receive has also been determined. In this context, the amount of awards to be distributed to clubs in the Super League in the 2024-25 season will increase by 115 percent, reaching 145 percent! The Super League 2024-2025 season will be played with 19 teams. Each of the Super League teams will put at least 86.5 million liras into their coffers as a participation fee, even if there is no increase in the exchange rate in the new season.   The team that wins the championship at the end of the season will earn 115% more money compared to the 2023-2024 season. The clubs that won the championship in previous years will be the winners of a prize of 7.18 million liras for each championship. The Super League champion will receive 86 million liras as a championship bonus in the 2024-2025 season. The clubs that won the championship in previous years will be the winners of a prize of 7.18 million liras for each championship.The teams will earn 5.98 million lira for each win and 2.99 million lira for each draw. 3. Super League is in 8th place in Europe with a value of 1.06 billion Euros    This season, with club transfers, the value of the Super League's transfer fees increased by 60 million Euros, reaching 1,060 million Euros.   According to Transfermarkt website data, the Super League is the eighth most valuable league among European leagues. According to the ranking, the Super League is in eighth place with a value of 1,060 million Euros.   In the 2024-25 season, 19 teams will compete in the Super League. The team with the highest squad value in the Super League, which has a total value of 1,060 million Euros, is Fenerbahçe with a value of 252.4 million Euros. The team with the lowest squad value is Bodrumspor Football Club with a value of 12.9 million Euros.   - There are a total of 612 players in our league. 42.5% of them (260 players) are foreign players. - The average value per player is 1.74 Million Euros. - The average player age is 25.9. - The most valuable player is Fenerbahçe's Ferdi Kadıoğlu, with a transfer fee of 30 million Euros.   II. TROUBLESOME ISSUES IN TURKISH FOOTBALL    Below, I am sharing with you the difficult issues that will challenge Turkish football this season.    1. We Had a Transfer Deficit of 77 Million This Season   Our clubs made important transfers in the 2024-25 season. When we look at our transfer balance sheet, we observe that our clubs have a deficit of 76.8 million Euros. This situation causes the financial balance of our football to deteriorate. It increases the cash deficit and negatively affects club profitability.   Table: 1) Super League 2024-25 Summer Transfers (Million Euros)     For the 2024-25 Super League season, clubs spent a total of 110.45 million Euros on transfers, while their transfer revenues amounted to 33,572 thousand Euros. Accordingly, Super League teams had a transfer deficit of 76,878 thousand Euros.   - 92.5% of transfer spending (102.4 million Euros) was made by the big four clubs. - 58% of transfer revenues belong to the big four clubs. (Total 19.5 Million Euros) - The transfer deficit of 4 clubs was 84.4 million Euros. The income of other clubs reduced the transfer deficit to 76.8 million Euros. - The biggest transfer surplus was given by Alanyaspor with 6 Million Euros. Alanyaspor sold Oğuz Aydın to Fenerbahçe for 6 Million Euros.   2. Club Debt Continues to Rise    According to the financial statements sent by the clubs to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP ), the total debt of just 4 clubs has reached 29.5 billion TL . When the debts of other clubs are taken into account, the debt burden of the Super League has exceeded 30 billion TL (834 million €).    Total club revenues reached 14 Billion TL (390 Mio €).  According to these financial data, debts have increased to 1.14 times revenues. This situation poses a great danger for our clubs.    3. Clubs in the Spiral of Interest, Exchange Rate and Inflation      Different Colors, Common Troubles: Clubs in the Interest-Exchange Rate-Foreign Exchange Spiral!     Although our clubs are seeing increases in their income, there are also significant increases in their debts and total liabilities. Clubs that have to continue their activities with high debts are faced with the following burning problems. The fundamental negativities in the general economic course have dragged the clubs into a spiral of  interest + exchange rate + inflation . Let me try to clearly state this situation below:     Clubs are constantly losing money because they have a foreign exchange deficit.  The foreign exchange liabilities of the clubs, which have to make payments to their players mostly in Euros, are constantly increasing and the exchange rates are constantly rising. When looked at in this context, the total foreign exchange deficit of the four clubs has reached 6.3 billion TL. (The Euro equivalent of this amount is 190 million Euros at today's current exchange rates).     As the increase in interest rates increases the interest on debt restructuring, the losses of the clubs increase and their equity capital erodes. While the clubs' bank loans were restructured in 2021, the interest rate on the existing debt with banks was changed to TL RIR + 1.5. (This is also confirmed in the clubs' activity reports) In March 2021, the TL RIR (reference interest rate) rate was around 18.8%. The clubs' borrowing costs were also revised accordingly. However, over the past two years, the TL RIR rate has increased to 44% in 2024. This means a 135% cost increase in financial expenses.   High inflation is eroding clubs' TL income.  As of March 2021, when clubs' loans were restructured, the official CPI (Consumer Price Index) was 16.19%, while the official inflation rate was 61.78% as of 2024. Accordingly, the increase in inflation between 2021-24 was 281%. Although clubs increased their products, match entrance tickets and season tickets, these increases could not prevent the erosion of the income of clubs whose income is predominantly in TL. 4. Other Common and Fundamental Financial Problems of Clubs       If we list other important and common problems faced by clubs;   Clubs Cannot Escape Net Debt  Clubs’ cash deficits are increasing rapidly   According to the financial statements announced by the four clubs, their cash requirements for the remaining nine months of the year reach 11 billion TL.    Clubs Cannot Make Profit   In order for clubs to have a healthy and sustainable financial structure, they must first make a profit from their main activities. Since the profits obtained outside the main activities are not sustainable profits, it is not possible to achieve sustainable growth and cumulative losses increase.    Economic negativities and unpredictability do not allow for a sustainable financial structure    5. Team Spending Limits (TSL) Are Pushing Clubs Away from Financial Discipline       The Turkish Football Association (TFA)' s TSL application aims to strengthen the financial structures of clubs by controlling and supervising their spending budgets; defining spending limits above the income of the teams, the current application is far from ensuring the financial adequacy of the clubs and establishing financial balance. On the contrary, it appears as a palliative solution that encourages spending and helps save the day. This application means that the competitive balance will deteriorate further in the medium and long term and unfair and unbalanced competition will increase.     6. There is a Gap Between Teams in Terms of Roster   As shown above, there are huge gaps in squad values among the Super League teams. In fact, the total squad values of the big 4 clubs (€710.7 million) constitute 67% (2/3) of the Super League squad values. While the average squad values of the four clubs reach €177.7 million, the average of the other 15 teams is around €55.8 million. In other words, the team values of the four clubs are 3.2 times higher than the average value of the other fifteen clubs.    This situation constitutes the basic dynamic of unfair competition in the Super League.   Conclusion   Having difficulty finding solutions to the problems it has been struggling with for years, Turkish football has become a league that is completely dependent on the live broadcast revenues supported by the football authority, has difficulty generating income with its own internal dynamics, has low ratings, mediocre football quality and weak competition. During this process, there is a tremendous economic, financial and sporting unfair and unbalanced competition in the Super League in favor of the big ones and against the small ones. This also reduces the quality and competitive ability of our football. Unfortunately, our chance of achieving permanent success with a league structure that designs the competition on an unsustainable ground does not seem very possible in this administrative structure and this political climate.   Despite all these negativities, I welcome you to the Super League.

According to the Deloitte’s Annual European Football Finance report, which is published for the 28 th time, Deloitte has reached to EUR 28,4 billion from EUR 25,5 billion by 11,3% growth comparing with the previous year’s European football market’s total revenues.[1]   Periphery and Center Organization in European Football     Today, the European football economy is composed of center and periphery leagues where central leagues exercise a higher economical and financial power than the periphery. In order to define a better theoretical empirical understanding of this asymmetry of this structure of European football about between the connection periphery and core leagues. Here and after core leagues will be referred to as central leagues.     The leagues we consider as central leagues are the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie-A, and French League1.      As can be seen from the tables below, 54,93 percent of the European football revenues are shared by these leagues, namely the five major leagues, which are defined as central leagues.      Leagues outside the major leagues can be described as the periphery leagues of Europe.       The majority of the European football revenues is taking place in the Big Five Leagues with EUR 15.6 Billion, namely the British Premier League, German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie-A and French League 1. While the Big Five Leagues or Central Leagues share the 54,93% of total revenue among them, Peripheral Leagues take the 18,66% of the total revenue.    Comparing with previous season, the share of Central Leagues has increased by 6.12%. The share of Periphery Leagues increased by 8.16%. (Chart 2)   Chart 2) Comparing with Previous Season, The Share of Central and Periphery Leagues       When the revenues of the Central Leagues are consolidated with the revenues of the Lower Leagues, the total revenues of the Central Leagues reach EUR 18.2 billion and their total share increases to 64.08%. Total revenues of Periphery Leagues occurred to EUR 10.2 Billion, while the share of Peripheral League was 35.92%.   Chart 3) Revenues of the Central leagues and Periphery Leagues   In terms of consolidated revenue growth, comparing with previous season Central Leagues’ revenue growth is 4%, while Peripheral Leagues’ was 27.5%.    The Big Five Has Drawn Away (a Big Time)!   In the last five years, central leagues' financial superiority has increased and today, it is impossible to lay low this empire. Financial superiority has brought sportive domination along. Hence, we can see the sportive superiority of the big fives against Peripheral Leagues in Champions League and Europe League clearly in UEFA organizations.    Last five seasons’ Central Leagues financial evolutions can be seen in table 4. According to the table, revenues of Central Leagues have increased from EUR 13,4 billion to EUR 17,9 billion.    There is an inevitable financial superiority of Central Leagues in Premier League. It is estimating that English Premier League will finalize the 2019-20 season with EUR 5490 MM. There is a EUR 2 billion gap between its closest rival Bundesliga. The reason of this difference growth comes from the increase in the broadcasting rights of the Premier League.   Chart 4) ‘Big five’ European league clubs’ revenue – 2015/16 to 2019/20 (€m)       The Gap is Growing with the Increasing Revenue of Premier League Broadcasting Rights   Revenue of Central Leagues in 2017-18 and the composition of the revenues are in Chart 5. As can be seen from the table, revenue of British Premier League is EUR 5.440 MM, in season of 2017-18. Bundesliga is following the Premier League with EUR 3.168 MM, in the 3 rd place there is Spanish La Liga with EUR 3.073 MM. Italian Serie-A is in the 4 th place with EUR 2.217 MM in central League and French League 1 is in the 5 th place with EUR 1.692 MM income.     Chart 5) 'Big five’ European league clubs’ revenue – 2017/18 (€m)      British Premier League has the financial superiority in Central Leagues with EUR 3.210 MM revenue of broadcasting. This superiority is also reflected in the sporting field. As a matter of fact, in the 2018-19 season, four British clubs played both in the Champions League and in the European League and turned the Champions League and the European League into the Premier League. Liverpool-Tottenham played the Champions League Final and Chelsea and Arsenal played the European League final. Liverpool and Chelsea played the Super Cup final in Istanbul on August 14, 2019.59% of the Premier League’s total revenue (EUR 5.4 billion) comes from the sale of broadcasting rights.    In this context, the Premier League's broadcasting revenues reaching EUR 3.210 MM are three times the French League 1, one and half times the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie-A and 1 time the Spanish La Liga.    British Clubs Earn More Than Other Central League Teams   As can be seen from the table 5, British clubs earn the most with an average income of EUR 272 MM per club, 54,5% more than Bundesliga, 76,6% more than La Liga team, 145% more than Serie-A team and 220% more than Lig 1 teams.    While the German fill the tribunes more than the other teams averagely with 43.789 per game, they are also way ahead from other teams in terms of premier league match day revenues. According to the calculations on the table above, the British are in the 1 st place at match day revenues with EUR 38.625 per average spectator. The Spanish are in the 2 nd place with EUR 35.712. Although the German are in the second place in terms of occupancy rate of stadium averagely (about) 90%, they are in the 4 th place in Central Leagues with EUR 19.872 revenue. The Italian are on the 3 rd place with EUR 27.926 revenue and the French are in the last place with EUR 151.149.    As a result, if the level of the stadium occupancy rate can maximize average match day revenue per audience, then, this ratio may become more significant.    Brits Are a Step Ahead in Business Income   We can see in table 6 that Premier League has the superiority among Central Leagues in both broadcast rights, match day revenues but also business revenues too.    Chart 6) ‘Big five’ leagues’ commercial revenue 2003/04 to 2017/18 (€m)   According to table 6, British Premier League is in the 1 st place with EUR 1.473 MM income. Brits are followed by the German with EUR 1.382 MM, the Spanish with EUR 954 MM, the Italian with EUR 710 MM and the French with EUR 666 MM.    During the last 8 years, the Brits have increased their business income by 163% from EUR 560 MM to EUR 1.473 MM, while the German have increased their business income by 174% and reached EUR 1.382 MM. While other Central leagues’ business incomes are below EUR 1 billion, French Lig 1 is the one with the lowest business income with EUR 666 MM.    British Football industry is in the first place in creating business income besides broadcasting and match day revenues.     Brits are a step ahead in Spending   The British are in the first place in not only making money, but also spending it in the Central Leagues.   Chart 7 shows us that Premier League distributes the 59% of the EUR 5.440 MM that has been earned as salary to players. British clubs which make averagely EUR 272 MM per clubs, pay EUR 161 MM of that amount as wage and salary to players, and this cause to best players and football coaches to go to England.     Chart 7: ‘Big five’ European league clubs’ revenue and wage costs – 2016/17 and 2017/18 (€m)     According to chart 7, the total number of salary and wage which British clubs pay to their players reach to EUR 3.217 MM. Spanish La Liga is the 2 nd one who pays salary and wage the most to their players after Premier League with EUR 2013 MM and it is followed by the German. Although, in every condition, it is visible that the salary and wage paid to players is above EUR 1 billion in central leagues. The lowest wage-salary / income ratio is German Bundesliga with 53% and the highest is French lig 1 with 75%.    The Most Profitable Clubs Are in Premier League   Premier league does not let the leadership to others on increasing the revenues steadily. By looking at table 8, it is clear that British clubs increased their profitability geometrically but steadily specially after season 2012-13. Premier League clubs generated EUR 1.297 MM profit in 2016-17 season, while this amount decreased to EUR 979 MM under 1 Billion Euro in 2017-18 season.    On the other hand, comparing to other Central Leagues, it is seen from table 8 that there is a difference of more than EUR 600 MM between the operating profits created by English clubs and other leagues.   In the last decade, British clubs have increased their operating profits by nine and half times to EUR 979 Million. This is a great accomplishment. Even though we can not observe the increased performance of operating profit in Premier League, we know that German clubs make EUR 373 MM, Spanish clubs make EUR 226 MM and Italian clubs make 54 MM profit.   While 19 out of 20 clubs can make operating profit, 13 clubs have pre-tax profitability. [2]     We only see UEFA financial fair play (FFP) application in Premier League as the most positive impact of club and league profitability. The table above shows us that the UEFA FFP application, which has been implemented since 2013-14 season, enters a tight financial discipline of the Premier League. It does not seem accurate to explain this development only with the increase in income. Naturally, in spite of the increase in revenues, expenses and related losses in football economy increase faster. We observe that the Premier League has used / managed the revenue growth very well in financially profitable clubs   Chart 8: ‘Big five’ European league clubs’ profitability – 2008/09 to 2017/18 (€m)     Russia is Getting Ahead in Peripheral Leagues   In the Periphery Leagues, Russia holds the economic and financial leadership with the EUR 813 MM revenue. While the most important revenue resource in Russian League is sponsorship incomes (61%), in Peripheral Leagues the highest broadcast income is in Super League with EUR 376 MM.   While 51.4% of the total revenues in the Super League consists of broadcast revenues , the share of sponsorship and commercial revenues is 33% and match day revenues are 11%. As such, the average income per club in the Super League, which ranked 7 th after the Russian league, is EUR 41 MM.    Chart 9) Development of Periphery League Clubs’ Revenues – 2017/18 (€m)       Unbalanced and Unfair Competition Became Permanent Against Peripheral Leagues!   The fact that the Peripheral Leagues fall behind the Central Leagues in competition is essentially the result of a conscious policy that UEFA has followed for years…   Although UEFA has declared that it aims to protect the Small Leagues against the Big Leagues with the Financial Fair Play application, the experimental results have shown us that this goal has not been achieved, on the contrary, the Periphery Leagues have been far behind in the unbalanced and unfair competition between the leagues and it increased on the behalf of the Central Leagues. We observe this result in both economic and financial area but also in sportive area. Since the quarter finals in the Champions League, which is the number one cup of European football, there is almost no Periphery League team, which is showing us that the competition is lost in terms of balance.     Consequences   Consequence1 : Leagues that do not have a sustainable financial structure are falling back in competition and they will continue to fall!     Deloitte's latest report gives us important clues not only about the finances of clubs but also about their economic and financial management.    First of all, I should mention that the leagues that do not have a solid financial structure will fall back and / or continue to fall even further within the structure of today's unfair competition. The existing unfair competition structure, Peripheral Leagues which do not have sustainable financial structure, will push back further Peripheral Leagues in competition with the Central Leagues in all areas. The fact that leagues are not left behind in competition seems to depend on whether they can establish sustainable financial structure. In general, the realization of such a financial structure on the basis of Clubs is one of the primary and mandatory duties of the football authority of that country.     In this context, the most important task and priority aim of the football authority is to create a healthy financial structure by creating a sustainable income increase in a league. Unfortunately, achieving sustainable growth in a league does not seem to be possible by simply increasing the broadcast revenue. Other sources of income must be created. It is an inevitable necessity to use the increased income in a productive manner, to increase the competitive structure of the league and to improve the quality of football. We can see this clearly in the Premier League example.   It is very important to increase the quality of football in a league and to have a sustainable financial structure in order not to fall back from the Central Leagues level and to prevent further breaks in the Peripheral Leagues. [2]     Consequence 2: The gap between the rich and the poor grows!   According to Deloitte's latest report, the EUR 18.2 billion share of the European Football paste of EUR 28.4 billion in the Big Five Leagues corresponds to 64.08% of the total revenue. The remaining part, 35.92%, has been shared by other 49 leagues share.       More specifically, in the Big Five Leagues, the share of the average revenue per league is 12.82%, whereas in Peripheral Leagues it is around 0,07% (seven per thousand). This situation clearly shows how the competition in European football has been transformed into unfair competition in favor of the elders.     Hegemony of European football in the Central Leagues continues to increase. Reaching more revenue, increasing their wealth on the basis of football, the Central Leagues, has a very competitive position. The only responsible for the creation of this structure is UEFA… The boss of European football, ‘I will establish competition in balance’ has stabilized unbalanced competition. This structure gives the Central Leagues a sporty and financial advantage. As long as UEFA continues to dominate the hegemonic domination of the Central Leagues in European football, the Peripheral Leagues do not seem to be successful in economic, financial and sporting terms.    The result is that UEFA should share a more balanced structure in the sharing of European football pie. Otherwise, it will cause the death of football in the medium and long term.     Result 3: Financial Polarization Creates Unfair Competition   Financial polarization means that clubs are divided into two poles, rich and poor, due to the deep gaps between their income. The reflection of financial polarization on green fields is in the form of uneven competition. Unbalanced competition, with the effect of financial polarization, turns into unfair competition in the process and works against low-budgeted, weak teams. Unfair competition can be seen in the comparative values of the team ranks, incomparable annual expense budgets, and financial credibility which causes the funding opportunity to be limited.    Unfair and unbalanced competition make the hegemony increase further in the Five Big Leagues of European football and turns the Peripheral Leagues into buttress which only maintain the status. Unfair competition provides an environment and opportunity for the accumulation of wealth of the Central Leagues and the permanent instability of unbalanced competition against the Peripheral Leagues.    We saw the most aggressive and clear example of this season in the Champions League and the European League. In Champions League, Liverpool and Tottenham and in European League, Chelsea and Arsenal playing the final match is nothing but a reflection of negative consequences to green fields.    Exactly five years ago, I wrote the following lines again in a Deloitte report analysis. I have seen that since then, as everything is same in terms of change and progress in Peripheral Leagues, on the other hand, the gap between the rich (Central Leagues) and poor (Peripheral Leagues) has grown. It doesn't look like it's going to catch up anymore.    “The leagues who have reached the superiority of unfair competition on the basis of unbalanced competition, can use this advantageous situation in their favor and build strong teams with a value of EUR billions and form a hegemony in the sports arena. But, peripheral clubs which are lacking the depth of squad and budget size to challenge their rivals are only required by status… Financial polarization makes unbalanced competition between clubs and turns it a permanent unfair competition. It creates rich and highly competitive teams, but again, clubs with low budgets and poor competitiveness. Overall, the excessive income generated as a result of unfair competition, the summary of this situation, is the financialization of football. In other words, excessive income generated as a result of unfair competition turns into a wealth increase among Central Leagues, leading to an increase in wealth accumulation.” [4]     Resources:     [1]   ‘’Annual Review of Football Finance 2019 Europe’s premier leagues’’     http://www.futbolekonomi.com/images/stories/raporlar/Genel/deloitte-uk-annual-review-of-football-finance-2019.pdf   [2] ‘’Annual Review of Football Finance 2019 Europe’s premier leagues’’ , sh.20.   http://www.futbolekonomi.com/images/stories/raporlar/Genel/deloitte-uk-annual-review-of-football-finance-2019.pdf     [3]   Tuğrul Akşar, Futbolun Ekonomi Politik Sorunları-I, 11 Kasım 2014,      http://www.futbolekonomi.com/index.php/haberler-makaleler/genel/122-tugrul-aksar/3334-futbolun-ekonomi-politii-feutbolda-gelir-artisi.html   [4] Tuğrul Akşar, Futbolun Ekonomi Politik Sorunları-II, 18 Kasım 2014,      http://www.futbolekonomi.com/index.php/haberler-makaleler/genel/122-tugrul-aksar/3359-futbol-ekonomisi-futbolun-ekonomik-sorunlari.html

According to Tuğrul Akşar's statement, Turkish football was in debt, therefore, these clubs lost their financial health. The most important deficiency of Turkish football is the lack of corparate governance which is the reason that Turkish football clubs are not well managed and controlled...    We share the explanations of Tuğrul Akşar below.    The total debts of Turkish football clubs have reached TL 14.5 billion (approximately $ 3 Billion).  The total revenues of the clubs are TL 3.5 billion ( approx. $ 570 Million) with total losses at around TL 6 Billion ( approx. $1Billion)   In the last 1.5 years debts of Turkish football clubs have increased about TL 5 Billion (approximately $ 850 Million) because of the economic crises in the Super League, which means, the lost of the Turkish football clubs have increased about $ 850 Million.  Under these conditions, clubs do not seem to be able to solve their own financial problems because, there are big gaps between total revenues and expenses.In my opinion, the project of debt restructuring will not succeed due to some basic problems which are as follows: 1) The interest rate of restructuring will be higher than the interest rates of the old debts. Old rates of the debts are between 15% and 20% on average. The restructuring rates will be around 30%, this means a 50 percent increase in their financial costs. 2) The economic crisis weakened their ability to creatw collateral thus all their assets are pledged to the banks. In this case, it is not easy to create new collateral. 3) This project is actually intended to save the big four clubs (Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor) due to the fact that 86% of total club debts belong to these four clubs.We need to find new solutions for their financial problems. We have to make long-term plans for their financial structures.  We therefore need to develop long-term and strategic solutions to solve the financial problems of these clubs. It is not possible to solve problems without generating new sources of income in the League as cash flows are insufficient, shareholders' equity is negative, their debts are more than their income and their accumulated losses are, as stated above, about TL 6 Billion.  However, TFF (Turkish Football Federation) wants to overcome these problems with short-term solutions which rather than solving the financial problems, actually make it worse. The risen indebtedness in the Super League has decreased the competitive power of Turkish football clubs against their European rivals.To sum up, TFF’s project is not sustainable for Turkish football in the long-term. TFF comes with palliative alternatives for the clubs in the Super league. At the end of this process the competitiveness of Turkish football will suffer.

By James M. Dorsey- 10 October 2013 Financially stressed Turkish soccer clubs are becoming pawns in the political struggle between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and militant soccer fans who rank prominently among his detractors as soccer pitches and university campuses emerge as major battlefields between the government and its detractors. Critics of Mr. Erdogan charge that the prime minister is seeking to enlist clubs in much the same carrot-and-stick way that he tamed the media by exploiting financial vulnerabilities and turning Turkey alongside Iran and China into the country with the most journalists behind bars. The impact of Mr. Erdogan’s effort to restrict media independence and limit independent critical reporting was evident when last June television stations broadcast soap operas and penguins instead of pictures of mass anti-government protests on Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square in which soccer fans played a prominent role. Soccer may however be a tougher nut to crack than the media. Soccer unlike the media has militant fans determined to thwart Mr. Erdogan’s attempts to use troubled clubs to whip them into line. Fans have defied a recent government ban on the chanting of political slogans during matches, rejected attempts by clubs on instructions of the government to sign pledges to abide by the ban, and ridiculed a government public relations campaign that portrays peaceful protest as a precursor for suicide bombings. The government has taken similar steps to pacify university campuses, including cancelling scholarships for students who had participated in the anti-government protests sparked by plans to replace Taksim’s historic Gezi Park with a shopping mall. Turkish authorities recently arrested 25 students aged 13-19 who visited Iran on suspicion of espionage and propaganda activities. While the arrests reflected tense Turkish-Iranian relations over Syria, it occurred amid a campaign to deter anti-government activity among students. “They can try Gezi protests in universities. People should not ruin their lives, should not have criminal records,” Turkish sports minister Suat Kilic warned last month in an ironic twist given that Turkey with its history of military coups and the Erdogan government’s crackdown on the media has scores of intellectuals and journalists with police records. Among those is Mr. Erdogan himself, who spent four months in prison in the 1990s for reciting a controversial poem. Mr. Erdogan’s ability to whip clubs into line and employ them in his confrontation with soccer fans has been enhanced by the debt burden under which Turkish teams are laboring. Bloomberg News quoted the Istanbul stock exchange as saying that short-term borrowings of storied Istanbul club Besiktas JK, its Istanbul rival and Turkish champion Galatasary SC and Black Sea club Trabzonspor FC created “uncertainty over the sustainability” of their finances. The bourse said that shareholders’ equity for each was negative. Galatasaray is staring at $57 million of debt due in the next year as the result of the expensive acquisition of players like Didier Drogba and hiring of Coach Roberto Mancini. Even so Galatasary with a debt-to-cash ratio of 13:1 compares favorably to Trabzonspor’s ratio of 40:1 and Besiktas’ 24:1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “If Turkish soccer isn’t reformed, institutionalized and if all goes as it has so far, Turkish soccer is doomed to hit a wall,” said soccer economist and journalist Tugrul Aksar. The battle over freedom of expression on the pitch was being waged as Mr. Erdogan unveiled what he termed a historic democracy package that granted greater liberties but fell short of the expectations of liberals, Kurds and Orthodox Christians and seemed to run counter to concepts put forward by President Abdullah Gul, a co-founder of the prime minister’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Mr. Gul, who is gunning for the prime minister’s job, has in recent days voiced far more liberal and inclusive concepts of democracy than the majoritarian ones advocated by Mr. Erdogan. Mr. Erdogan, who has promised not to seek a fourth term as prime minister after leading the AKP to three sweeping electoral victories, is expected to run next summer for the presidency. Many analysts suspect however that he may only keep his promise if he can turn the largely ceremonial office into an executive one. The battle for greater freedoms also occurs as Turkey braced itself for next week’s European Union progress report that was expected to take the government to task for its hard-handed handling of the Gezi Park protests, limits on the freedom of expression and freedom of press, and the deceleration of its reform process. In a twist of irony, anthropologist Elif Babül argues however that EU programs designed to bring the Turkish police in line with European standards have served to enhance law enforcement’s capabilities and better package rather than reduce its disproportionate use of force. The brutal response of the police to the Gezi Park demonstrations turned a small environmental protest into mass anti-government protests with thousands of militant soccer fans on the frontline. Ms. Babül’s somber analysis suggests that violence is inevitable in future confrontations between the government and street-battle hardened soccer fans determined to stand their ground. “My research on human rights training programs for Turkish state officials has taught me that the meetings and workshops organized to improve the capacity of Turkey to become a member of the EU are far from unproductive, useless sites of whitewashing that help the government continue business as usual. On the contrary, these workshops, projects, and other tools of harmonization actually serve as platforms for government actors to manage the terms of EU membership, and the governmental standards that they entail,” Ms. Babül wrote. “It is by conducting projects that state officials come to learn what these standards are really about. They are place-holders for democracy and the rule of law that are supposed to be managed strategically in order to reduce liability and perform a level of development. For instance, it is by interacting with the British police at experience-sharing meetings that the TNP officers learn what it takes to become ‘security experts,’” she went on to say. “Rather than installing mechanisms to fight impunity within the organization, they learn that what they need is “better policing” that can be attained by building crime databases or by setting up high-tech labs to better conduct forensic investigation… Scholars who are critical of democratization and development industries have shown that programs for economic and political transition continue to produce unexpected outcomes in a variety of places, leading to more accentuated forms of exclusion, inequality, and authoritarianism. The contradictions between the stated goals and actual outcomes of these projects are inherent to the world of development,” Ms. Babül cautioned. A just published Amnesty International report concluded that the brutal suppression of the Gezi Park protests and with it the subsequent government campaign against militant soccer fans “significantly undermined the claims of the ruling Justice and Development Party to be delivering responsible, rights-respecting government and exposed a striking intolerance of opposing voices. The smashing of the Gezi Park protest movement has involved a string of human rights violations – many of them on a huge scale. These include: the wholesale denial of the right to peaceful assembly and violations of the rights to life, liberty and the freedom from torture and other ill-treatment. The vast majority of police abuses already look likely to go unpunished, while many of those who organized and participated in the protests have been vilified, abused – and now face prosecution on unfair or inflated charges.” Among those facing allegedly unfair or inflated charges are 20 members of Carsi, the popular support group of Besiktas who stand accused of being members of an illegal organization. Carsi’s reply in defiance of the ban on political slogans has been to chant "everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance" during matches echoing a popular June protest tune. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture, and the author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer blog. http://mideastsoccer.blogspot.com/2013/10/turkish-soccers-financial-crisis.html

When I say that I was in London this week for the biggest game in world football you may be forgiven for assuming that I am talking about the Champions League final. In terms of financial reward the match I am here to watch carries a far greater prize than that match or any other. And just to add to the drama, the loser gets absolutely nothing. The match I am talking about is the Championship Playoff final between Crystal Palace and Watford. The winning team gets promotion to the Premier league and a slice of the biggest TV deal in football history. Even relegation at the end of the first season will mean that the winners of this match are guaranteed to earn a minimum of £140 million in TV money over the next 4 years as relegated clubs continue to receive “parachute” payments even after dropping back to the Championship. In the case of the club that I support Crystal Palace, promotion to the Premier League will take the club from 300 th in Europe in terms of revenues to 30 th . Just two years ago the club was staring League 1 (the 3 rd tier of English football) and bankruptcy in the face before a group of 4 supporters came to the rescue and took over the club. Since then club has had financial stability off the pitch and growing confidence on it. Winning the play-off final would be a remarkable change of fortune in a very short time.   To quote Crystal Palace’s co-chairman, Steve Parish "There is almost too much at stake, it's almost like walking into a casino and putting the future of the club on red or black. It's a 50-50 bet with which you might be able to transform your football club. Watford are not in a dissimilar position with us and I'm sure we'll both be looking at the riches and thinking we could probably make that go quite a long way and make a big change to the club." The supporters of the respective clubs are no less aware of the importance of this game. Crystal Palace’s allocation of tickets was sold out before even going on sale to the general public and Wembley stadium will be 100% full. I am one of the lucky ones with a ticket, but as a follower of the club for over 35 years I am fully aware that this could be just another false dawn. The first game I ever went to was Crystal Palace V Shrewsbury Town in division 3 in the 1976/77 season. Crystal Palace had been in the first division just a few years previously and had even inflicted Manchester United with a humiliating 5-0 defeat. Despite the lowly position, the mood at the club was positive and with their young and talented team promotions were to follow and pundits began to tip Palace as the “Team of the 80s”. This was not to be and when things began to grow wrong the team fell apart and dropped back to division 2. At the end of the 1980s however it seemed that the pundits’ prophecy might yet come true in the following decade. Under Steve Coppell’s management Palace were promoted again to the top tier of English football and in the following season reached the FA Cup final, losing narrowly to Manchester United and in the process probably saving Alex Ferguson’s job. The following season Palace finished 3 rd , their highest ever finish. Since then the highs and lows have continued, but today’s match is surely the most crucial in the club’s history ....... The new Wembley Stadium was as impressive as I thought it would be on the outside. And even more impressive on the inside Victory! Palace 1, Watford 0. But as manager Ian Holloway put “Crystal Palace are now in the Premier League......and God help us!” With star player Wilfred Zaha joining Manchester United most Palace fans would probably echo those sentiments, but whatever happens next season we have still won world football’s jackpot and the destiny of our club has changed in just 90 minutes!

Lale ORTA, Ph.D. 28 September 2012   Okan University, Graduate School of Applied Sciences, Department of Sport ManagementThis study has been accepted for publication as an article for International Review of Business and Social Sciences (IRBSS) Journal September 2012 Vol.1 No.10 (ISSN: 2226-4124).      ABSTRACT   Women have encountered gender discrimination and inequalities throughout history; and their rights have always been less and their statuses have been considered lower in comparison with men. Despite the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women - CEDAW”, designed and adopted by the United Nations in 1979 in such a way as to enable women to actively participate in sports and physical education activities equally with men; equal opportunities for women in football have been created too late by the FIFA, UEFA and International Olympic Committee . Olimpiyat Oyunlarında erkek futbolu ilk kez 1908 yılında resmi olarak yer alırken, kadın futbolu Olimpiyat Oyunlarında ilk kez 1996 yılında yer almış ve erkeklerden 88 yıl sonra düzenlenmiştir.Men 's football was officially included in the Olympic Games in 1908 for the first time, and the women's football was officially included in the Olympic Games in 1996 for the first time, i.e.  88 years later than men’s football organization.FIFA tarafından organize edilen Erkekler Dünya Kupası ilk kez 1930 yılında düzenlenirken, Kadınlar Dünya Kupası tam 61 yıl sonra, 1991 yılında ilk kez düzenlenmiştir.Men 's World Cup was organized by FIFA in 1930 for the first time, and Women's World Cup was organized in 1991 i.e. 61 years later.Kadınlar Dünya Kupası ile erkekler Dünya Kupası organizasyonu arasında 61 yıl fark vardır.There are 61 years between Women's World Cup organizations and Men's World Cup organizations. FIFA tarafından 20 Yaş Altı erkek futbol organizasyonları ilk kez 1977 yılında yapılırken, kadınlarda ilk kez 2002 yılında düzenlenmiştir.The first Under-20 Men's Football organization was made in 1977, and the first Under-20 Women’s Football organization was made in 2002. 20 Yaş Altı kadınlar ve erkekler futbol organizasyonları arasında 25 yıl ara vardır. There are 25 years between the first Under-20 Men's Football organizations and the first Under-20 Women’s Football organizations. 17 Yaş Altı erkek futbol organizasyonları ilk kez 1985 yılında düzenlenirken, kadınlar için ilk kez 2008 yılında organize edilmiştir.The first Under-17 Men's Football organizations were made in 1985, and the first Under-17 Women’s Football organization was made in 2008.17 Yaş Altı kadınlar ve erkekler futbol organizasyonları arasında 23 yıl fark vardır. There are 23 years between the first Under-17 Men's Football organizations and the first Under-17 Women’s Football organizations.   The first Men's European Championship was organized by UEFA in 1958, and Women's European Championship was held in 1982. There are 24 years between the Men's and Women’s European Championship organizations. The first men's club team organization was made in 1955, and the first Women's European Championship was held 46 years later in 2001. Men’s Champions League was started by UEFA in 1992, and Women's Champions League was started in 2008, instead of Women's Cup. There are 16 years between Men’s Champions League and Women's Champions League.   For the first time, the Youth Olympic Football organizations were made by FIFA for both men and women in the same year, without gender discrimination. This shows the fact that today equal plans are being made for women and men organizations.     Keywords: FIFA, UEFA,Football Organizations , Gender Discrimination      INTRODUCTION   The condition for a sustainable anthropocentric development is the creation of a partnership between women and men based on equality (Sport and Gender, 2005).   As one of the social problems, gender discrimination emerges as a discrimination against women. Women have encountered gender discrimination and inequalities throughout history. Their rights have always been less and their statuses have been considered lower in comparison with men (Demirbilek, 2007).   The data obtained from statistical studies shows that women are in a more disadvantaged position in terms of gender-based occupational discrimination. This adversely affects the position of women in the labor market as well as their social variables such as education, income, health, and sports; and the transfer of these adverse effects to the next generation leads to the emergence of gender inequality (Parlaktuna, 2010).   According to the results of the survey made, the levels and ways of the women’s participation in sports, which are lower and different in comparison with men, as well as their disadvantageous position in sports environment are attributed to many factors. These are expressed with the assertions that; intense participation in the competition sports may cause women to face problems in child rearing;  contact-based sports activities may pose danger for  women's reproductive organs and breasts; women have slimmer bone structure than that of men, and therefore the risk of injury is higher for women; intense participation in sports may cause menstrual problems leading to emotional problems; therefore women should not be included in the environments, which cause emotional and physical overstrain (Koca & Bulgu, 2005).            Inequality of women before the law prompted them to claim their political rights, with intent to gain and legalize the equality (Bebel, 1978).   The 1st Women's Rights Convention was held in New York in 1848 In the convention attended by 260 women and 40 men, it was advocated that women should have equal rights as well as right of voting (Bensadon, 1994).   In many democratic communities, the requirements of women, who want to gain their legal and economic independence, was tried to be met, by means of detailed regulations intended for eliminating the unrighteousness (Bensadon, 1994).   In 19th century, many women acquired a distinguished position in the branch of art, literature, astronomy, mathematics, and science. In North America, they particularly come into prominence in the fields of social sciences and social innovation (Michel, 1994.)   Finland was the first European country that adopted the women's rights, with the Statute of the State Assembly, dated June 1, 1906. At that time, Finland was a Russian principality. With the amendment in the Constitution of Denmark in 1915, the women's right to vote was adopted in Denmark. The dictatorial regimes, which ruled in Germany and Italy during the period between the 1930s and the end of World War II in 1945, caused the women's rights to regress in these countries (Bensadon, 1994).   The United Nations declared the period between 1975 and 1985 as the "woman’s ten years", and took the lead for the three major international conference done in this period. The United Nations focusing on the inequality between women and men in all areas adopted the convention on the "Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women," in 1979 (Koray, 1994).   Clause ‘g’ of Article 10 in Section 3 of the United Nations’ Convention on the  Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women has been designed in such a way as to enable women to actively participate in sports and physical education activities equally with men (Cedaw, 1979).   Our study is intended for ascertaining whether there is equality between the organizations made for men’s and women’s football. In Football, the International Federation of Association Football is the most authoritative body in the organization of international matches and tournaments (Orta, 2000). Men's World Cup was organized by FIFA in 1930 for the first time, and Women's World Cup was organized in 1991 i.e. 61 years later (Orta, 2000).   Union European Football Association-UEFA is the most authoritative organ that organizes international football matches and tournaments in European continent. The first Men's European Championship was organized by UEFA in 1958, and Women's European Championship was organized in 1982, ie., 24 years later (Orta, Akşar, Beşiktaş, 2012).   METHOD       In this study, analyses and examinations were made on the men’s and women’s football organizations of FIFA and UEFA, which are the governing bodies in the world football European football respectively; and some factors were discussed and compared with each other. The data obtained from the comparisons were calculated and interpreted by statistical methods. Horizontal approach was applied for comparisons. The men’s and women’s football organizations compared in horizontal approach were discussed. Accordingly, the followings comparisons were made; -          The men's football organizations made by FIFA at the level of national teams; and  the women's football organizations made by FIFA at the level of national teams, -          The men's football organizations made by FIFA at the level of club teams; and  the women's football organizations made by FIFA at the level of club teams -          The men's football organizations made by UEFA at the level of national teams; and  the women's football organizations made by UEFA at the level of national teams -          The men's football organizations made by UEFA at the level of club teams; and the women's football organizations made by UEFA at the level of club teams.   The data required in this study are based on printed and internet sources. For this reason, the resources related to the football organizations made by FIFA and UEFA were researched     FINDINGS   Football that was included in the Olympic Games in 1900 and 1904 as a demonstration sport was the first the first team sport in Olympics. The first official Olympic Football Tournament was made 1908 in London Olympics, in which eight teams competed ( www.olympic.org ).   World Cup Finals, which are organized in every four years, was held in 1930 for the first time. FIFA U-20 World Cup was organized under the name of "World Youth Championship" in 1977, for the first time. FIFA U-17 World Cup was organized in 1985, for the first time. And FIFA Futsal (indoor football) was organized in 1989, for the first time. Beach football officialized in the 1990s after determination of its specific rules began to be organized under the name of “FIFA Beach Football World Cup” as from 2005, as a FIFA organization. The organization made for the first time under the name of "King Fahd Cup" in Saudi Arabia in 1992 was included in the structure of the organization FIFA in 1995, and was named "FIFA Confederations Cup". The first Youth Olympic Football Tournament participated by national under-17 teams and hosted by Singapore was held in 2010 (see www.fifa.com ).   The football organizations made by FIFA at the level of men's national teams and their commencement years are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1.   Table  1. FIFA Men's National Team Football Organizations and Their Commencement Years FIFA Name of the Organization Starting the Year Men’s Olympic Football Tournament 1908 FIFA World Cup 1930 FIFA U-20 World Cup 1977 FIFA U-17 World Cup 1985 FIFA Futsal World Cup 1989 FIFA Confederation Cup 1995 FIFA Beach Football World Cup 2005 Youth Olympic Football Tournament 2010    Figure 1. FIFA Men's National Team Football Organizations and Their Commencement Years   "FIFA Women's World Cup" Football held in every four years at the level of men's national teams was organized in 1991 for the first time. Women's football was included in Olympics in Atlanta for the first time in 1996, with the participation of 8 teams. The first biennial "FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup" and "FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup" were organized in 2002 and 2008, respectively. The "1 st Youth Olympic Games" participated by under-15 girls was organized in 2010 for the first time, and 6 teams competed (see www.fifa.com ).   The football organizations made by FIFA at the level of women's national teams and their commencement years are shown in Table 2 and Figure 2.     Table 2.   FIFA Women's National Team Football Organizations and Their   Commencement Years   FIFA Name of the Organization Starting the Year FIFA Women’s World Cup 1991 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament 1996 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2002 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2008 Youth Olympic Football Tournament 2010      Figure 2. FIFA Women's National Team Football Organizations and Their Commencement Years     The commencement years of the men’s and women's football organizations made by FIFA are shown in Table 3.      Table 3.  The commencement years of FIFA Men’s and Women's World Cup Organizations Name of the Organization Starting the Year FIFA World Cup 1930 FIFA Women’s World Cup 1991   The commencement years of the men’s and women's football organizations at the level of national teams in Olympic Games are shown in Table 4.   Table 4. The commencement years of the men’s and women's Olympic football organizations  Name of the Organization Starting the Year Men’s Olympic Football Tournament 1908 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament 1996   The commencement years of the FIFA U-20 men’s and women's football organizations at the level of national teams are shown in Table 5.   Table 5. FIFA U-20 World Cup Organizations Name of the Organization Starting the Year FIFA U-20 World Cup 1977 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2002   The commencement years of the FIFA U-17 men’s and women's football organizations at the level of national teams are shown in Table 6.   Table 6.  FIFA U-17 World Cup Organizations Name of the Organization Starting the Year FIFA U-17 World Cup 1985 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2008   The commencement years of FIFA Youth Olympic Football Organizations for national men’s and women’s teams are shown in Table 7.   Table 7.  The commencement years of Youth Olympic Football Tournaments  Name of the Organization Starting the Year Youth Olympic Football Tournament 2010 Youth Olympic Football Tournament (young girls) 2010   Only two football organizations are organized by FIFA at the level of clubs. FC Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup organized traditionally by the club Zurich in every year since 1939, which is attended by new skilful people as candidate for professionalism in the world football was taken over by FIFA in 1991, and then it began to be organized under the name of “FIFA Youth Cup”. FIFA Club World Cup was organized for the first time in 2000, under the name of "FIFA World Club Championship", with the participation of 6 continental champion clubs. It could not been organized between 2000 and 2005. Its name was changed to "FIFA Club World Cup (see www.fifa.com ).   The commencement years of the football organizations for men's club teams made by FIFA are shown in Table 8 and Figure 3.   Table 8.  The football organizations for men's club teams made by FIFA  Name of the Organization Starting the Year Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup 1991 FIFA Club World Cup 2000    Figure 3.  The organizations for men's club teams made by FIFA   As the first football organization made by UEFA in 1958 at the level of national teams, "European Cup" could not attract the expected attention in the first year due to insufficient participation. The initial name of the cup was “Henry Delaunay”, and then it was changed to "European Nations Cup", and finally to "European Football Championship" in 1965. Since 1976, UEFA Under-23 Football Championship has been organized as "Under-21". The name of the championship that began to be organized under the name of International Youth Football Tournament between 1948 and 1980 was changed to U-18 European Championship in 1980, and to U-19 European Championship.   U-17 European Championship was organized in 1980 for the first time, under the name of U-16 European Championship.  European Inter-Regional Junior Championship was organized in 1978 for the first time (see www.uefa.com ).   The football organizations made by UEFA at the level of men's national teams and their commencement years are shown in Table 9 and Figure 4.   Table 9.  The football organizations of UEFA at the level of men's national teams    Name of the Organization Starting the Year UEFA European Football Championship-EURO 1958 UEFA U-23 Championship* 1967 UEFA U-21 Championship 1976 UEFA Regions’ Cup 1978 UEFA U-19 Championship 1980 UEFA U-17 Championship 1980 *Since 1976, "21 Years Old" began to be held in.   Figure 4.  The football organizations of UEFA at the level of men's national teams and their commencement years   The European Women's Football Competitions commenced in 1982 was named European Women's Championship in 1989. European Women's Championship organized in every four years is organized with the participation of 16 teams. U-18 Women's Championship was organized in 1997–1998 Football Season, for the first time. Denmark was the first champion of the championship, which is held every year. In 1998-1999 football season, its name and competition format were changed, and it become U-19 (under age 19) Women’s Championship (see www.uefa.com ).   The football organizations made by UEFA at the level of women's national teams and their commencement years are shown in Table 10 and Figure 5.     Table 10.  The football organizations of UEFA at the level of women's national teams and their commencement years  Name of the Organization Starting the Year UEFA Women’s European Football Championship- EURO 1982 UEFA Women’s U-21 Championship * 1997 UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship 1998 UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship 2007 * Since 1998, "19 Years Old" began to be held in.   Figure 5.  The football organizations of UEFA at the level of women's national teams and their commencement years   The football organizations made by UEFA at the level of men’s and women's national teams and their commencement years are shown in Table 11.   Table 11. The Commencement Years of the organizations of UEFA at the level of men’s and women's national teams  Name of the Organization Starting the Year Men’s national teams and their commencement years 1958 Women's national teams and their commencement years 1982   “Inter- Cities  Fairs  Cup " participated by the teams of the cities hosting trade fairs was commenced by UEFA in 1955-1956 football season. Upon the incensement of the participation in the event, the event’s status was changed, and it was named “UEFA Cup” in 1971–1972 season. With intent to enable UEFA Cup to reach the standards of Champions League, radical changes were made in team status in 2009. As from 2009-2010 season, it began to be organized under the name of “UEFA European League”. “UEFA Champions League” was commenced in 1992–1993 season, 36 years after the organization of Champion Clubs Cup. Champions League is the most important organization among the 19 organization made by UEFA. European Cup Winners' Cup organized in 1960-1961 football season for the first time was combined with "UEFA Cup" in 1999-2000 football season, by considering the decreasing interest of the people caused by the large number of the matches played at the level of clubs. UEFA Intertoto Cup has been the only football organization that has not any final, champion and cup  (see www.uefa.com ).   The club team football organizations made by UEFA, and their commencement years are shown in Table 12 and Figure 6.   Table 12. Men’s club team football organizations made by UEFA, and their commencement years  Name of the Organization Starting the Year UEFA Inter- Cities  Fairs  Cup * 1955 UEFA European Champions Clubs’ Cup 1955 UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup ** 1960 UEFA Cup 1971 UEFA Super Cup 1972 UEFA Champions League 1992 UEFA Intertoto Cup*** 1995 UEFA Europa League 2009 *Was named the UEFA Cup in 1971.   ** Not organized since 2000.   ***Not organized since 2008.       Figure 6.  Men’s club team organizations made by UEFA, and their commencement years   UEFA Women's Cup attended by champion teams of the countries was organized by UEFA in 2001 for the first time. This organization was named UEFA Women's Champions League in 2009 (see www.uefa.com ).   The women’s club teams football organizations made by UEFA, and their commencement years are shown in Table 13 and Figure 7.     Table 13.  The Commencement years of UEFA Women's Club Teams Organizations  Name of the Organization Starting the Year UEFA Women’s Cup* 2001 UEFA Womens Champions League 2009 *In 2009, "Women's Champions League" was the name.   Figure 7. The Commencement years of UEFA Women's Club Teams Organizations   The men’s and women’s club teams football organizations made by UEFA, and their commencement years are shown in Table 14.   Table 14 The Commencement years of UEFA Men’s and Women's Club Teams Organizations  Name of the Organization Starting the Year UEFA Men’s Club Teams Organizations 1955  UEFA Women's Club Teams Organizations 2001   The commencement years of the football organizations of the men’s and women’s club teams made by UEFA shown in Table 15.   Table 15  The Commencement years of  the Organizations of UEFA Men’s and Women's Champions League  Name of the Organization Starting the Year UEFA Men's Champions League 1992  UEFA Women's Champions League 2000     CONCLUSION   Despite the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women - CEDAW”, designed and adopted by the United Nations in 1979 in such a way as to enable women to actively participate in sports and physical education activities equally with men; equal opportunities for women in football have unfortunately been created too late by the FIFA, UEFA and International Olympic Committee. The year differences determined between the men's and women's football organizations are as follows:   Men's football was officially included in the Olympic Games in 1908 for the first time, and the women's football was officially included in the Olympic Games in 1996 for the first time, i.e.  88 years later than men’s football organization (Figure 8).     Figure 8.  The Commencement Years of Men’s and Women’s Olympic Football Organizations   Men's World Cup was organized by FIFA in 1930 for the first time, and Women's World Cup was organized in 1991 i.e. 61 years later.Kadınlar Dünya Kupası ile erkekler Dünya Kupası organizasyonu arasında 61 yıl fark vardır.There are 61 years between Women's World Cup organizations and Men's World Cup organizations (Figure 9).     Figure 9.  The Commencement Years of Men’s and Women’s FIFA World Cup Organizations   The first Under-20 Men's Football organization was made in 1977, and the first Under-20 Women’s Football organization was made in 2002. 20 Yaş Altı kadınlar ve erkekler futbol organizasyonları arasında 25 yıl ara vardır. There are 25 years between the first Under-20 Men's Football organizations and the first Under-20 Women’s Football organizations (Figure 10).      Figure 10.  FIFA U-20 World Cup Organizations   The first Under-17 Men's Football organizations were made in 1985, and the first Under-17 Women’s Football organization was made in 2008.  17 Yaş Altı kadınlar ve erkekler futbol organizasyonları arasında 23 yıl fark vardır. There are 23 years between the first Under-17 Men's Football organizations and the first Under-17 Women’s Football organizations (Figure 11).     Figure 11.  FIFA U-17 World Cup Organizations   For the first time, the Youth Olympic Football organizations were made by FIFA for both men and women in the same year, without gender discrimination (Figure 12).     Figure 12.  The Commencement Years of the Youth Olympic Football Organizations   The first Men's European Championship was organized by UEFA in 1958, and Women's European Championship was held in 1982. There are 24 years between the Men's and Women’s European Championship organizations (Figure 13).     Figure 13.  The Commencement Years of the UEFA Organizations for Men’s and Women's National Teams   The first men's club team organization of UEFA was made in 1955, and the first Women's European Championship was held 46 years later in 2001 (Figure 14).     Figure 14. The Commencement Years of the UEFA Organizations for Men’s and Women's Club Teams   Men’s Champions League was started by UEFA in 1992, and Women's Champions League was started in 2008, instead of Women's Cup. There are 16 years between Men’s Champions League and Women's Champions League Figure 15).     Figure 15.  The Commencement Years of the UEFA Organizations for Men’s and Women's Champions League   All the football events organized by FIFA and UEFA until 2010 had been made for men first. Small number of teams does not pose an obstacle for organizing an event, and besides, it reflects the approaches and perspectives regarding the subject. For those who assert that there is not adequate number of teams in women’s football, we can give some examples such as the facts that men’s football was included in the Olympic Games with 3 teams, between the years 1900 and 1904, even if they were for the purpose of demonstration; football officially participated in the games with 6 teams in 1908; and the first World Cup was held with only 13 teams.      For the first time, the Youth Olympic Football organizations were made by FIFA in 2010 for both men and women in the same year, without gender discrimination. This shows the fact that today equal plans are being made for women and men organizations.   In addition, FIFA and UEFA are required to utilize and distribute all the economical sources equally for men and women. The condition for a sustainable anthropocentric development in also football is the creation of a partnership between women and men based on equality.     REFERENCES   Bebel, A., (1978). Kadın ve Sosyalizm, (Çeviri:Sabiha Zekeriya Sertel), Toplum Yayınevi, İstanbul.   Bensadon, N., (1994). Başlangıcından Günümüze Kadın Hakları (Çeviri: Şirin Tekeli), Cep Üniversitesi, İletişim Yayınları, İstanbul.   Cedaw, (1979). Birleşmiş Milletlerce 1979’da kabul edilen “Kadınlara Karşı Her Türlü Ayrımcılığın Önlenmesi Sözleşmesi”.   Demirbilek, S., (2007). Cinsiyet Ayrımcılığının Sosyolojik Açıdan İncelenmesi. Finans Politik & Ekonomik Yorumlar, 44, ss. 12-25    Koca, C., & Bulgu, N. (2005). Spor ve toplumsal cinsiyet: Genel bir bakış. Toplum ve Bilim Dergisi, 103.    Koray, M., (1994). Türkiye’de Kadınlar, Türkiye Sosyal Ekonomik Siyasal Araştırmalar Vakfı, Türkiye’nin Sorunları Dizisi-4, Yeni Yüzyıl Kitaplığı.   Michel, A., (1994). Feminizm (Çeviren: Şirin Tekeli), Cep Üniversitesi, İletişim Yayınları, Preses Universitaires de France.   Orta, L., (2000). “FIFA Dünya Kupası Finallerinin Analitik Olarak İncelenmesi”, Gazi Üniversitesi BESYO 1. Ulusal Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Kongresi, Cilt 2, s.227-239, 2000, Ankara.   Orta, L., (2000). “Futbolda Bayanlar Dünya Kupası ile Erkekler Dünya Kupasının Karşılaştırılarak İncelenmesi”, Gazi Üniversitesi BESYO 1. Ulusal Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Kongresi, 26-27 Mayıs 2000, Ankara.   Orta, L., Akşar, T., Beşiktaş, Y., (2012). Analytical Study Of The Uefa European Football Championship, İİB International Refereed Academic Social Sciences Journal, Volume :  03, Issue:07.   Parlaktuna, İ., (2010). Türkiye’de Cinsiyete Dayalı Mesleki Ayrımcılığın Analizi (Analysis of Gender-Based Occupational Discrimination in Turkey), Ege Akademik Bakış, Cilt: 10, Sayı:4 Ekim 2010, ss. 1218.   Sport and Gender, (2005). Empowering Girls and Women, Chapter 4, Source: UNDP, Taking Gender Equality Seriously.   www.fifa.org   www.uefa.com   www.olympic.org

Yrd. Doç.Lale Orta- 12 Ağustos 2012 The study was conducted on the 336 referees coming from different cities of Turkey and attending to courses for the Promotion to Super League, Super League Assistant, Classification A, Classification B, Classification C and Classification C Assistant Refereeing Staff for the 2007-2008 football seasons. The distribution of the number of the referees in terms of their regions, and the percentages of their decisions were taken into account and the comments were made considering these values.   Lale ORTA 1 , Yalçın BESIKTAŞ 1 , Ali KIZILET 2   1 Okan University, School of Applied Sciences, Department of Sport Management 2 Marmara University, Physical Education and Sports   This study at Cambridge University, the 3rd July 23 to 25, 2012 date Sport and Society Conference, presented as a virtual declaration and IIB International Refereed Academic Journal of Social Sciences July-August-September 2012 Volume: 03 Issue: 06 published as an article.   Abstract: The participants interpreted on FIFA video recordings consisting of 24 positions. When the answers of the 336 participants were evaluated, the average number of the correct answers given by the referees is 14, and 10 for the incorrect ones per referee. There are several reasons of football referees’ making wrong decisions. Lack of education, not being able to take the correct position during the match, being far from the position, tiredness, the pressure by the audience, pressure by the media, pressure by the footballer, wrong perception of the position and interpreting it in a wrong way, the lack of the knowledge of the laws of the game, etc. can be considered as some of these reasons. These reasons may vary. So far, the common view has been that the reasons of the referees’ wrong decisions have depended on the negative conditions that the referees have faced during the matches. This study shows that no matter how the negative conditions of the match are cleared away or no matter how clear the referees watch the positions on display, the decisions they make are not the standard ones.       Key Words: Football, Referee, FIFA, The Laws of the Game , Match positions, Referees’ interpretations   INTRODUCTION The role of a referee is really important in the match’s being played under the principles of Fair Play, in a cheerful and exciting atmosphere, with many goals scored during and at the end of the game or its being played in an unsystematic, eventful and disputed manner (Orta, 2002a). Refereeing requires knowledge, experience, competence, good personality, form, and concentration. A referee is a person having a regular life style, knowing about psychology and sociology, being able to comment on the human being’s individual and social behaviors, and who has to be a good sample in terms of his/ her behaviors both inside and outside the field of the game (Orta, 2002b). The start of the football refereeing in the world has been in parallel with the start and the expansion of football. Until 1819, the captains of each team had been the referees during the matches (San, Unsi and Var, 1963). It was found out that the institution of refereeing first came into existence in England (Orta, 2002) and it started to get institutional in 1880s (Lineker, 1994). All the changes in the game of football effected the refereeing. In 1881, it was the first time that there were things to be mentioned about a referee in the laws of the game (Babacan, 1972). Referees have become the only authorized person of the matches since 1890 (Artun, 1992). The systematization and publishing of the laws of the football game first came true in 1896 to create a shared harmony all over the world (Baba, 1992). Refereeing in started to progress after the year 1990 when the retired footballers became the referees of the game (Tezcan, 1964). It can be seen that the necessary importance has not been attached to the referees who are the most important part of the game together with the regular changes in the laws of the game (FIFA Magazine, 1997) which cause referees to make mistakes. FIFA ( Fédération Internationale de Football Association ) and IFAB ( International Football Association Board ) have taken new steps studying on this issue since 1990 (Orta, 2008). Many source was made about implemention of football rules by FIFA to ensure unity and standart. (Laws of the Game, 1995; 1996; 2003) There are several studies and researches on referees all over the world. Some of these studies are available below: In recent years many researches are conducted about referees and assistant referees.  This researches  are especially about physical qualifications of referees. Metabolic stressor is researched  effects of performance to referees during the game ( Krustrup , Mohr and Bangsbo , 2002; Castagna, Abt and D’ottavio, 2007; Bird, Nevill and Castagna, 2006). There are lots of research about physical qualification as well as psychological qualification. This researches include effects of psychological stressor to performance and management qualification to psychological stressor ( Mascarenhas and Plessner, 2006). In addition there are few studies about behavioural model of referees whose detection capabilities. Econometric analysis of the Football referees’ interpretations with which the behaviors of the football referees on duty were analyzed in Italian Football League (Series A) was examined. In this study, it is mentioned that the audience exerted social pressure on the referees and this affected the referees’ interpretations in favour of the host team (Springer and Verlag, 2007). In the research named as the perceptions of the football players on injustice and the types of the mistakes done by the referees; the effect of the referee’s interpretations, which were perceived as unjust, on the football players was studied (Canovas, Reynes and Ferrand, 2008). Similar studies have explored the effects of different environmental factors on the performance of the referees. One of these studies is a factor of stress caused by football spectators (Downward and Jones, 2007; Balmer, Nevill, Ward and Fairclough , 2007; Johnston, 2008), in the other explored the effects of altitude on the performance of referee (Kızılet, Topsakal and Orta, 2009) The main things of referees performance that  accuracy and consistency in making decision. There are lots of investigation about this topic. (Catteeuw, Helsen, Gils and Wagemans, 2009; MacMahon, Helsen, Starkes and Weston , 2007). Main point of this researches are positive impact of performance about true referees decision. There are several reasons of football referees’ making wrong decisions. Lack of education, not being able to take the correct position during the match, being far from the position, tiredness, the pressure by the audience, pressure by the media, pressure by the footballer, wrong perception of the position and interpreting it in a wrong way, the lack of the knowledge of the laws of the game, etc. can be considered as some of these reasons (Orta and Söğütçü, 2004). These reasons may vary. So far, the common view has been that the reasons of the referees’ wrong decisions have depended on the negative conditions that the referees have faced during the matches. In this study, it is aimed to measure whether the referees’ interpretations are standardized or not even when all these negative conditions of the match are cleared away and the positions of the match are watched clearly by the referees on display.   METHOD OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT GROUPS The study was conducted on the 336 referees coming from different 41 cities of Turkey and attending to courses for the Promotion to Super League, Super League Assistant, Classification A, Classification B and Classification C Assistant Refereeing Staff for the 2007-2008 football season (Table 1). The most successful referees in all regions of Turkey are invited to the “Promotion Courses” by the Central Board of Referees. 336 participants of our study consists of 27 referee candidates of Classification A, 3 Female referee candidates of Classification B, 31 referee candidates of Classification B, 56 referee candidates of Classification C, 191 Assistant referee candidates of Classification C, 9 referee candidates of Super League and 19 Assistant referee candidates Super League (Table 1).   Table 1 The Number of the Referees in terms of their Classifications The Classifications That The Referees Are The Candidates Of The Number Of The Referees Referees of super league 9 Assistant referees of super league 19 Referees of classification A 27 Referees of classification B 31 Referees of classification C 56 Assistant referees of classification C 191 Female referees of classification B 3 Total 336   As the study also shows the success of referees’ interpretations on the positions, it was taken into consideration while promoting their classifications. This was approved by the referees who took the tests.   METHOD   The study consists of 24 match positions prepared in 2007 by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Being the uppermost institution of the football in the world, FIFA aims the Laws of the Football Game to be interpreted in a standardized manner. So FIFA desires to remove differences among the interpretations of the referees, the media, the footballers, the interpreters, the audience, the directors, and the others. The videos of the positions were very clear and they were displayed on a huge screen that everyone could see easily. After giving detailed information to the participants, evaluation sheets were given to the referees. The participants were asked to write their interpretations of the 24 positions recorded by FIFA after watching each of them. There are two parts – technical and disciplinary decision - in the evaluation sheets related to each position. The technical decisions have four and the disciplinary decisions have three choices on this evaluation form. Technical decisions include “No Foul”, “Indirect Free Kick”, “Direct Free Kick” and “Penalty kick”. As for the disciplinary decisions, they consist of “No Card”, “Yellow Card” and “Send off”. The analysis of the match positions which are prepared by FIFA and directed to 336 referees coming from different cities of Turkey and attending to courses for the Promotion to Super League, Super League Assistant, Classification A, Classification B, Classification C, and Classification C Assistant Refereeing Staff for the 2007-2008 football season are as in the following: 1- The player tackles his opponent endangering his health and sliding his one foot in the air. 2- The footballer prevents his opponent by using his knee in the penalty area. 3- The footballer moves in front of the opponent who is heading towards the goal by the touch line and stops his opponent using his hip. 4- The footballer falls down in the opponents’ penalty area. There is no contact to the player, but the player does not intend to mislead the referee’s decision while falling down. 5- The footballer, who is about to score a goal, is pulled from behind outside the opponents’ penalty area and is fallen down by his opponent. 6- The player kicks his opponent’s leg in the midfield 7- The player tries to deceive the referee and lays himself down in the opponents’ penalty area in an exaggerated manner expecting to have a penalty. 8- An intervention from behind is done to the player in the goal area having the obvious goal-scoring opportunity. 9- The footballer tackles sliding to gain the ball. He cannot touch the ball but the feet of his opponent. His sliding tackle is not a kind of one endangering his opponent’s health. 10- The opponent and the goalkeeper are attacking the ball coming back from the goalkeeper. The ball is between both players. 11- The player is sliding from the field of play to outside passing the touch line and tackling his opponent outside the field of play. The tackle is completely aiming to the player rather than the ball and it may injure the opponent. 12- The goalkeeper is causing his opponent to fall down by touching his legs in the penalty area. However, there is no obvious goal-scoring chance in the position. 13- The footballer is tackling his opponent by sliding without intending to play with the ball, but he is not endangering his opponent’s health. 14- The player prevents his opponent by moving between the ball and his opponent with a contact in the penalty area. 15- The player stops his opponent who is moving forward together with the ball by pulling his jersey. 16- The player kicks his opponent’s foot from behind off the ball. 17- The player falls down deliberately in the opponents’ penalty area to mislead the referee’s decision and gain an unfair profit. 18- The player who is heading towards the opponents’ goal and having an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is fouled from behind by an opponent. 19- The player is preventing the opponent to meet the ball by handling the ball in order to prevent an obvious attack by the opponent team. 20- Both players are sliding to the ball between them. One of them is kicking the other’s knee and injuring him without taking care of his own foot. 21- The player is pushing the opponent from behind using his shoulder in the penalty area. 22- Coming to the front line of the penalty area, the goalkeeper is tackling his opponent without controlling his tackle 23- A sliding tackle is done to the player who passes his opponent with the ball. 24- The player having an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is fallen down by an opponent’s tackle from behind in the penalty area.   STATISTICAL METHOD The distribution of the number of the referees in terms of their regions, and the percentages of their decisions were taken into account and comments were made considering these values.     FINDINGS The number of the 336 participant referees’ in terms of the classifications that they are the candidates of and their percentages were shown Table 2.   Table 2 Number of the Candidates for the Classifications and Their Percentages The Classifications That Referees Are The Candidates Of The Number Of The Referees Percentage Referees of super league 9 2.7 Assistant referees of super league 19 5.7 Referees of classification a 27 8 Referees of classification b 31 9.2 Referees of classification c 56 16.7 Assistant referees of classification c 191 56.8 Female referees of classification b 3 0.9 Total 336 100 The participants interpreted on FIFA video recordings consisting of 24 positions. When the answers of the 336 participants were evaluated, the average number of the correct answers given by the referees is 14, and 10 for the incorrect ones per referee (Table 3). Table 3 The Interpretation of the FIFA Positions by the Referees on Duty in Turkish Professional Leagues in Turkey Number of the Referees Total Number of the Questions Correct Answers Wrong Answers 336 8064 4748 3316 Average   14.13 9.87   While 98.2% of the referees interpreted the position in which the player tackles his opponent endangering his health and sliding his one foot in the air as “Direct Free Kick”. They could not the same high percentage in terms of this position’s disciplinary sanction. 58.7% of the referees could not send the player off although the position should be punished by a red card. 76.6% of the referees made the right decision which is “Penalty kick” for the position in which the player prevents his opponent by using his knee in the penalty area. As for the disciplinary sanction 96.3% of the referees interpreted the position correctly by not showing any cards to the player. 93.7% of the referees correctly interpreted the position in which the player moves in front of the opponent who is heading towards the goal by the touch line and stops his opponent using his hip as “Direct Free Kick”. While 32.9% of the referees believed that “No Card” should be shown, 65.2% of the referees decided on showing “Yellow Card” for the player as a disciplinary sanction. 32.9% of the referees interpreted the position only as “Direct Free Kick” without any cards although they had to show a yellow card to the player. One of the biggest problems experienced in Turkish Football Leagues is deception. The percentage of the correct answer of “No Infringement” is 71.4 for the player falling down in the opponents’ penalty area. 43.6% of the showed yellow card although no card must be shown for this position as a disciplinary sanction. The player, who is about to score a goal, is pulled from behind outside the opponents’ penalty area and is fallen down by his opponent. 98.8% of the referees interpreted this position as “Direct Free Kick” and 97.9% of them as “Send Off”. The referees achieved to give the correct answer with a high level of percentage both as a technical and as a disciplinary sanction in this position having obvious goal-scoring opportunity. For the position in which the player kicks his opponent’s leg in the midfield, 95.5% of the referees chose the option “Direct Free Kick”. 26.9% of the referees misinterpreted the position and did not send of the player. The player is trying to deceive the referee and lays himself down in the opponents’ penalty area in an exaggerated manner expecting to have a penalty.  Although 88.9% of the referees believed that there is “No Foul”, only 59.6% of the referees are in the opinion of showing a yellow card as the player was trying to deceive the referee. This position was misinterpreted by the referees in the percentage of 40.4. An intervention from behind is done to the player in the goal area having the obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Out of the 90.8% of the referees interpreting the position as a “Direct Free Kick” and a “Penalty kick” only 60% of the referees sent off the player. 40% of the referees misinterpreted this position. The footballer tackles sliding to gain the ball. He cannot touch the ball but the feet of his opponent. His sliding tackle is not a kind of one endangering his opponent’s health. While 93% of the referees agreed on “Direct Free Kick” for this position that did not endanger the opponent’s health, only 69.3% of them decided on showing a “Yellow Card”. 30.7% of the referees misinterpreted the position by not showing a yellow card to the player.   Table 4 The Assessment of the 24 FIFA Positions’ Technical Interpretations Made by 336 Referees Who are on Duty in Turkish Professional Leagues Item No Foul Indirect Free Kick (IFK) Direct Free Kick (DFK) Penalty FIFA’s Decision 1 0.3% 1.5% 98.2% -- DFK 2 21.9% 0.3% 1.2% 76.6% Penalty kick 3 3% 3.3% 93.7% -- DFK 4 71.4% 22.8% 0.9% 4.9% No Foul 5 0.6% 0.3% 98.8% 0.3% DFK 6 3% 1.5% 95.5% -- DFK 7 54% 34.9% 0.9% 10.2% IFK 8 9.2% 0% 3.6% 87.2% Penalty kick 9 5% 0.9% 93.2% 0.9% DFK 10 90.4% 3% 6.6% -- No Foul 11 77.6% 2.7% 17.7% 2% No Foul 12 4.8% 0.3% 1.5% 93.4% Penalty kick 13 0.3% 0.3% 96.4% 3% DFK 14 55.7% 4.2% 2.1% 38% Penalty kick 15 0.9% 0.3% 98.5% 0.3% DFK 16 0.9% 0% 98.5% 0.6% DFK 17 41.4% 38.9% 1.8% 17.9% IFK 18 25.4% 2.4% 1.8% 70.4% Penalty kick 19 0.6% 0.3% 97.6% 1.5% DFK 20 3.6% 3.3% 93.1% -- DFK 21 0.3% 0% 5.7% 94% Penalty kick 22 2.4% 0% 3.9% 93.7% Penalty kick 23 1.2% 0% 96.4% 2.4% DFK 24 15.5% 2.1% 2.7% 79.7% Penalty kick   For the position in which the goalkeeper and the opponent are attacking the ball coming back from the goalkeeper, 90.4% of the referees agreed on “No foul” and 98.2% of them believed that there was no disciplinary sanction. They interpreted the position correctly with a high level of percentage. In the position in which the player is sliding from the field of play to outside, passing the touch line, tackling his opponent and injuring him outside the field of play; 77.6% of the referees gave correct answers by realizing that the contact occurred outside the field of play. As for the disciplinary sanction, the referees’ interpretations varied to a great extent. While 48.3% of the referees showed a “Yellow Card”, only 34% of the referees interpreted the position correctly by showing a “Red Card”. 17.7% of the referees did not show any cards for this position. In the position in which the goalkeeper is causing his opponent who has no obvious goal-scoring chance to fall down by touching his legs in the penalty area, 93.4% of the referees interpreted correctly by deciding on “Penalty kick” as a technical sanction. As a disciplinary sanction, 37.8% of them did not show any cards. However, 59.8% showed red cards and interpreted the position correctly.  40.2% of the referees misinterpreted this position in terms of its disciplinary sanction. As a technical sanction of the position in which the footballer is tackling his opponent by sliding without intending to play with the ball, but he is not endangering his opponent’s health, 96.4% of the referees interpreted the position correctly by deciding on “Direct Free Kick”. However, the percentage of the referees’ correct interpretations is 51.9 for the disciplinary sanction of the position. As for the technical sanction of the position in which the player prevents his opponent by moving between the ball and his opponent with a contact in the penalty area, 40.1% of the referees correctly interpreted the position as “Direct Free Kick” and “Penalty kick”. It was detected that the percentage of the right interpretations which was 24.4 for the disciplinary sanction of a “Yellow Card” was quite low. 74.2% of the referees believed that there must not be any disciplinary sanction for this position. It was found out that the referees correctly interpreted the position in which the player stops his opponent who is moving forward together with the ball by pulling his jersey with a high percentage. This position was one of the rare ones for which the referees reached a consensus both in terms of the technical and the disciplinary sanctions. The referees achieved a standard as 98.5% of the referees awarded the position with “Direct Free Kick” and 94.9% of them showed a “Yellow Card”. For the position in which the player kicks his opponent’s foot from behind off the ball, 98.5% of the referees interpreted it correctly by deciding on “Direct Free Kick” and 76.5% of them were right by sending the player off. 23.5% of the referees could not send off the player. In the position in which the player falls down deliberately in the opponents’ penalty area to mislead the referee’s decision and gain an unfair profit, 19.7% of the referees misinterpreted the position by deciding on “Penalty kick”. Moreover, the percentage of the referees who showed their “Yellow Card” as the position’s disciplinary sanction is 70.2. Only 70.4% of the referees correctly interpreted the position in which the player who is heading towards the opponents’ goal and having an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is fouled from behind by an opponent by choosing the correct answer of “Penalty kick”. 25.4% of them believed that there were no infringements in the position. Although the correct interpretation of the position was “Send Off” as a disciplinary sanction, only 54.7% of the referees circled this choice. 45.3% of the referees misinterpreted the position. The position in which the player prevents the opponent to meet the ball by handling the ball in order to prevent an obvious attack is one of those which can be commonly interpreted by the referees in Turkey. 97.6% of the referees with “Direct Free Kick” and 93.3% of them with “Yellow Card” correctly interpreted the position.   Table 5 The Assessment of the 24 FIFA Positions’ Disciplinary Interpretations Made by 336 Referees Who are on Duty in Turkish Professional Leagues Item No Card Caution  (Yellow Card) Send Off (Red Card) FIFA’s Decision 1 5.4% 53.3% 41.3% Send Off 2 96.3% 3.7% 0% No Card 3 32.9% 65.2% 1.9% Caution 4 56.4% 43% 0.6% No Card 5 0.3% 1.8% 97.9% Send Off 6 4.2% 22.7% 73.1% Send Off 7 39.1% 59.6% 1.3% Caution 8 23.1% 16.9% 60% Send Off 9 21.8% 69.3% 8.9% Caution 10 98.2% 1.8% 0% No Card 11 17.7% 48.3% 34% Send Off 12 37.9% 59.8% 2.3% Caution 13 1.8% 51.9% 46.3% Caution 14 74.2% 24.4% 1.4% Caution 15 5.1% 94.9% 0% Caution 16 5.2% 18.3% 76.5% Send Off 17 29.2% 70.2% 0,6% Caution 18 30% 15.3% 54.7% Send Off 19 6.4% 93.3% 0.3% Caution 20 9.5% 34.7% 55.8% Send Off 21 80% 19.3% 0.7% No Card 22 12.1% 37% 50% Send Off 23 1.8% 90.6% 7.6% Caution 24 23.1% 19% 57.9% Send Off   While 93.1 percent of the referees decided on “Direct Free Kick” for the position in which two players slide to the ball together and one of them kicks the other’s knee and injures him without taking care of his own foot, only 55.8% of them correctly interpreted it and showed their red cards. 44.2% of the referees could not send off the player. 94% of the referees correctly interpreted the position in which the player is pushing the opponent from behind using his shoulder in the penalty area by choosing the correct option “Penalty kick”. 20% of them misinterpreted the position by showing the footballer either a yellow or a red card. Although 93.7% of the referees correctly interpreted the position in which the goalkeeper coming to the front line of the penalty area tackles his opponent without controlling his tackle as “Penalty kick”, only 50% of them could send the player off. In the position in which a sliding tackle is done to the player who passes his opponent with the ball, 96.4% of the referees choosing “Direct Free Kick” and 90.6% of the referees deciding on showing a “Yellow Card” achieved a common interpretation of the position. While 82.4% of the referees correctly interpreted the position in which the player having an obvious goal-scoring opportunity is fallen down by an opponent’s tackle from behind in the penalty area by choosing the options “Direct Free Kick” and “Penalty kick”, only 57.9% of them could send the player off. When 336 referees’ answers given to each position by FIFA are evaluated, the percentages of their answers can be displayed in Table 4 and Table 5.   CONCLUSION   There are several reasons of football referees’ making wrong decisions. Lack of education, not being able to take the correct position during the match, being far from the position, tiredness, the pressure by the audience, pressure by the media, pressure by the footballer, wrong perception of the position and interpreting it in a wrong way, the lack of the knowledge of the laws of the game, etc. can be considered as some of these reasons. These reasons may vary. So far, the common view has been that the reasons of the referees’ wrong decisions have depended on the negative conditions that the referees have faced during the matches. This study shows that no matter how the negative conditions of the match are cleared away or no matter how clear the referees watch the positions on display, the decisions they make are not the standard ones. When 336 participants’ answers to the FIFA video recordings were evaluated, it has been found out that the average number of the correct answers given by the referees is 14, and 10 for the incorrect ones per referee. When FIFA positions are evaluated in terms of the questions asked, the percentage of the referees who correctly decided on both the technical and disciplinary sanctions was 58. Furthermore, the percentage of the referees who made wrong decisions on one or both of the technical and/or disciplinary sanctions was 42. While the percentage of the correct answers for the technical decisions made by the referees for 24 positions is 83.5, the percentage of the correct answers for the disciplinary sanctions is 67.7. It can be clearly seen that one of the biggest problems of the referees is the application of the disciplinary sanctions. When 10 positions which require “Caution” are taken into consideration, it has been detected that 32.1% of the referees made mistakes by not showing any cards. It is obvious that the referees also have some problems in sending the player off. In the 10 positions which require a “Red Card” to be shown, 39.9% of the referees gave wrong answers and did not show a red card to the players. The percentage of the referees’ correct answers in sending the players off is 60.1. The positions for which the referees’ in Turkey commonly show “Yellow Cards” can be detected as pulling from behind, sliding from the back of a player after the player passes the opponent, and handling the ball to prevent the opponent to meet the ball. In four positions which do not require any cards to be shown, the referees reached the highest percentage of 82.7. It can be clearly seen that the referees have the tendency not to show any cards. While 79.8% of the referees correctly interpreted the 3 positions in which there is no infringement thus not requiring a direct or indirect free kick, 20.2% of them misinterpreted the position and decided to award the position with a foul. In two positions which require indirect free kick, only 36.9% of the referees chose the correct option. In these two positions which require indirect free kick, 47.7% of the referees believed that there was no foul. This shows that the referees misinterpret the positions which have the intentions to deceive the referees. Managing football matches successfully is possible by reducing the number of mistakes and developing an understanding of standardized management. That the referees do not reach a consensus on the positions and interpret the positions differently is the most concrete indicator of referees’ different practices either during the match or in the match intervals. In Turkey, the referees misinterpreting the positions are found guilty of either opportunism or interpreting the positions according to the messages they receive from somewhere. However, even in many countries, professionalization of senior refereeing has still not been able to wipe factor of human beings’ making mistakes out.   REFERENCES ARTUN, T.Ü. and et all. (1992). Türk Futbol Tarihi (Ed. E.Arıpınar), C.I, Grafik Sanatlar Printing    House, İstanbul,  p.10. BABA, N. (1939). Beynelmilel Futbol Kaideleri ve Kaideler Hakkında Sorgular-Cevaplar , Beden Terbiyesi Genel Direktörlüğü Neşriyatı Futbol No.2, Ankara, p.3. BABACAN, D. (1972). Futbol ve Hakem, Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu Eğitim Yayınları: 4, S.14, İstanbul. BALMER, N. J. 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FIFA Magazine, Published Bimonthly by Federation Internationale de Football Association, No. 45pages: 6-13. KIZILET, A., KIZILET, T., TOPSAKAL, N., ORTA, L. (2009). Physical And Physiological Profile Of Elite Soccer Referees In Preparative; On At Hıgh Altitude, 14th Annual Congress of the European College of Sports Science, Oslo, Norway, KRUSTRUP P , MOHR, M , BANGSBO, J . (2002). Activity profile and physiological demands of top-class soccer assistant refereeing in relation to training status. J SportsSci. 20(11):861-71. LAWS OF THE GAME (1995). Federation Internatıonale de Football Association , Zurich, page:15. LAWS OF THE GAME (1996). Federation Internatıonale de Football Association , Zurich, page: 17. LAWS OF THE GAME (2003). Federation Internationale de Football Association , Zurich, page: 16. LINEKER, G., ED: RADNEDGE, K. (1994). The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Soccer , Carlton THodder&Stoughton Boks Ltd., London,  pp: 11-12. MACMAHON, C., HELSEN,W., STARKES, J.L. , WESTON, M . (2007). Decision-making skills and deliberate practice in elite association football referees. Journal of Sports Sciences ; 25(1), 65-78. MASCARENHAS, D ., O'HARE, D PLESSNER, H . ( 2006). The psychological and performance demands of association football refereeing, International Journal of Sort Psychology, 37(2-3), 99-120. MATTHEW, W., C., CASTAGNA, F. M., IMPELLIZZ E., ERMANNO, R., GRANT A. (2006). Analysis of physical match performance in English Premier League soccer referees with particular reference to first half and player work rates, Sports Medicine , 1440-2440 Australia. ORTA, L. (2002A). Türkiye’de Hakemlik, Top Bir Dünyadır, Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat Publication, Ticaret Joint-Stock Company., İstanbul, ss:54-65. ORTA, L. (2002B). Dünyada ve Türkiye'de Futbol Hakemliğinin Başlangıcı ve Gelişimi , 7 th International Congress of Sport Science, SB-012, Seminar Book p.14, 27-29 October, Antalya. ORTA, L. (2002C). Futbol Oyun Kurallarının Tarihsel Gelişimi , 7 th International Congress of Sport Scienc, Seminar Book p.230, 27-29 October  Antalya. ORTA, L., SÖĞÜTÇÜ, T. ( 2004). Türkiye Profesyonel Liglerinde Görev Yapan Hakemlerin Kural Bilgilerinin Değerlendirilmesi, 10.ICHPER-SD Europe and 4 th International Sports Science Congress Kemer, Antalya ORTA, L. (2008). Futbol Oyun Kurallarının Evrimi (1863-2008), Journal of  Gazi University  İletişim Kuram ve Araştırma, N: 26, Winter-Spring ISSN:1302-146X, Ankara, 461-476. CANOVAS, S., REYNES, E., FERRAND, C. (2008). Types of errors by referees and perception of injustice by soccer players: A preliminary study, Ammons Scientific, 99-110.   RON, J. (2008). On referee bias, crowd size, and home advantage in the English soccer Premiership, Journal of Sports Sciences , 26(6): 563 – 568. SAN, H., ÜNSI, T., VAR, S. (1963). Futbol Ansiklopedisi, Ticaret Postası Printing House, İstanbul, 134-140. TEZCAN, F. (1964). Futbol, Bereket Printing House, İstanbul, , pp:32-36. SPRINGER AND VERLAG, VINCENZO SCOPPA DIPARTIMENTO DI ECONOMIA E STATISTICA, UNIVERSITÀ DELLA CALABRIA,  (2007). “Are subjective evaluations biased by social factors Or connections? An econometric analysis of soccer Referee decisions”, Received: 15 May 2005 / Accepted: 15 February 2007 / Published online: 20 June 2007.   FUTBOL HAKEMLERİNİN KURAL YORUMLARININ DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ Özet: Bir futbol maçının zevkli, heyecan verici, Fair Play ilkeleri içersinde, bol gollü geçmesinde ve bitmesinde veya düzensiz, olaylı, kavgalı bir hava içersinde oynanmasında hakemin rolü son derece önemlidir. Dünya futbolunun en üst kurumu olan FIFA; Futbol Oyun Kurallarının tüm dünyada standart bir yaklaşımla yorumlanmasını amaçlamaktadır. Böylece futbolda; hakeme, medyaya, futbolcuya, yorumcuya, seyirciye ve yöneticiye göre farklı yorumları ortadan kaldırmak istemektedir. Bu amaçla, Dünya Futbol Federasyonları Birliği FIFA tarafından hazırlanarak ülke federasyonlarına 24 maç pozisyonu gönderilmiş ve bu pozisyonlarda hakemler tarafından verilmesi istenen kararlar belirtilmiştir.   Araştırmamız; 2007–2008 futbol sezonu için, Türkiye’nin çeşitli illerinden gelerek Süper Lig, Süper Lig Yardımcı, A Klasman, B Klasman C Klasman ve C Klasman Yardımcı Hakem Kadrolarına Yükselme Kurslarına katılan 336 hakem üzerinde uygulanmıştır. Araştırmaya katılan hakemlere; araştırma ile ilgili ayrıntılı bilgi verildikten sonra, değerlendirme kâğıtları dağıtılmıştır. 24 pozisyondan oluşan FIFA görüntüleri tek tek izlettirilerek, her pozisyondan sonra pozisyonla ilgili yorumlarının kâğıtlara işaretlenmesi istenilmiştir. Pozisyon görüntüleri çok net olup, herkesin rahat görebileceği dev ekranlardan hakemlere izlettirilmiştir. Değerlendirme kâğıtları, her pozisyonla ilgili teknik ve disiplin kararı olmak üzere iki bölümden oluşmuştur. Değerlendirme formu üzerindeki teknik kararlarının dört, disiplin kararlarının ise 3 yanıt seçeneği bulunmaktadır. Teknik kararlar; “Faul Yok”, “Endirekt Serbest Vuruş”, “Direkt Serbest Vuruş” ve “Penaltı” seçeneklerinden, Disiplin Kararları ise; “Kart Yok”, “İhtar” ve “İhraç” seçeneklerinden oluşmaktadır. Hakemlerin her pozisyon için verdikleri kararların yüzdeleri hesaplanmış ve yorumlar bu değerler üzerinden yapılmıştır. 24 pozisyondan oluşan FIFA görüntüleri ile ilgili araştırmaya katılan 336 hakemin verdikleri yanıtlar değerlendirildiğinde; hakem başına düşen doğru yanıt ortalaması 14, yanlış yanıt ortalaması ise 10’dur. Futbol Hakemlerinin hatalı karar vermelerinin çok çeşitli nedenleri bulunmaktadır. Bunlardan bazılarını ele aldığımızda; eğitim eksikliği, maç sırasında iyi pozisyon alamamaları, pozisyona uzak kalmaları, yorgunluk, seyirci baskısı, medya baskısı, futbolcu baskısı, pozisyonu yanlış algılama ve yorumlama, kural bilgisinin yetersizliği, vd. sayılabilir. Bu nedenler çok çeşitlilik gösterebilir. Hakemlerin hatalı karar verme nedenleri hakkında, bugüne kadar var olan genel kanı, daha çok hakemlerin maçlarda yaşadığı olumsuz koşullara bağlı olduğu yönündeydi. Bu çalışmamız; maçlarda yaşanan bütün bu olumsuz koşullar ortadan kaldırıldığında ve hakemlere ekran başında kuralları çok net olan pozisyonlar izlettirildiğinde, verdikleri kararların da standart olmadığını ortaya koymaktadır.     Anahtar Kelimeler: Futbol, Hakem, FIFA, Oyun Kuralları, Maç Pozisyonları, Hakem Yorumları

By finishing top of the group, the team has already exceeded my expectations and the expectations of most England supporters. The England national team has not performed well in recent years with a few notable exceptions (the 4-1 win against Croatia in Zagreb in qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup springs to mind) so getting to a quarter-final is not a reason to celebrate but it is cause of satisfaction and cautious optimism. The squad of players is becoming a team and that has not happened for a while. As well as lots of positive statements from the players, the body language has been excellent.  They are playing for and supporting each other on and off the field. The team may be on its way home after Sunday night’s game but there is definitely something to build upon for the World Cup 2014 qualifiers. In the competition so far England have scored 5 goals and all goals have been scored by different players. Of course one reason is that Rooney was banned for the first two games, but it is still a reason to be happy. It shows a level of confidence among the other players that has not been seen for a long time. Of course, your confidence is only as good as your last result, but I think Hodgson has built up a good enough rapport to pick up the players if things go horribly wrong against Italy or Germany in the semi-finals. Steven Gerrard is without a doubt England’s player of the tournament so far. Nobody has ever doubted his talent but he has not always been able to reproduce his club form for the national side.  It might also be something to do with the absence of Lampard and Gerrard taking over the captaincy of the team. Whatever the reason it seems that England have a world class player and first class captain to take the team to 2014. In Roy Hodgson England have a manager with a proven track record who is able to get the most out of his players. At the moment the team is not playing attractive football but neither were they under Capello. Hodgson is trying, at the moment successfully, to make England a well-organised team which is difficult to beat. He did the same thing at Fulham and West Brom and before long both teams began to play attractive football. Hodgon’s failure at Liverpool should not be ignored but could things have ended any other way?  England have some very good young players who are certain to form the backbone of the 2014 team. Hodgson gave 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain his international debut in a warm-up game against Norway last month. After Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen he is the 3 rd youngest England international of all time.  If he continues to develop his game he could be a vital part of the 2014 team. Other notable youngsters in the squad include goalkeeper Joe Hart (aged 25), strikers Andy Carroll (23) and Danny Wellbeck (21). We should also mention Arsenal’s Jack Wilshire (20) who looked certain for a place in the Euro 2012 team until he got injured in the middle of last season. Finally, let’s not forget even Rooney will only be 28 years old at Brazil 2014! The old guard of Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard have both probably played their last games for England. However their absence could be looked upon as an opportunity rather than a loss. Although both players have served their country well over the years, it is time for a younger generation to take their place. Let’s hope that this generation is better able to consistently repeat club form internationally. Whatever happens to the team in Euro 2012 is an unexpected bonus, what England supporters should be celebrating is the gradual emergence of a team that really can compete in the next World Cup rather than being perpetual under-achievers.

UEFA president Michel Platini and general secretary Gianni Infantino have used a media briefing in Monacoto launch its financial fair play initiative, which features 11 values aimed at securing the future of Europeanfootball. "The financial fair play concept has been launched to safeguard the long-term health of Europeanfootball," said Infantino. "One of the project's key requirements is to force clubs to finance their businessactivities with the resources they generate themselves." A UEFA Club Financial Control Panel chaired byformer Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene will monitor clubs with the concept being implemented instages between 2010 and 2012. "The clubs … know perfectly well what they will have to face from now on.We have had years of anarchy before, and there was a need to put proper rules in place,” who alsoreassured the media over concerns that Poland and the Ukraine will not be ready to stage Euro 2012."Poland and Ukraine have made great efforts in recent months and things have moved ahead positively,"added Platini. "We are very confident that everything will be ready by the set deadlines. To help [Poland andUkraine], we are deploying as many experts as we can to assist and work with the authorities and localorganisers. You can consider that the ultimatum no longer exists. The stadia, the roads will be built but boththese countries are asking our help in providing advisers and guidance. For example, in Kharkov in Ukrainethey normally have a dozen flights a day to deal with; but on the day of a match they will have 100 in an hour.They need a lot of advice to help them organise all of that. “So we’re going to double the support teams and,instead of sending them in a few months early, they’ll be working there from a year and a half out.”

The Npower Championship doesn’t get much attention outside of England and Wales but there are many remarkable things about the second tier of English football that make it for many football supporters more attractive than the Premier League itself. As we shall see in many ways it is what the ideal league competition should be and therefore an example for all to take note of.   Let’s kick-off by having a look at how the league works. The Championship consists of 24 teams so it’s a big league with a season of 46 matches. At the end of the season the bottom three teams are relegated to League 1, which is in fact the third tier of English football, and the top two teams are promoted to the Premier League. The four teams finishing 3 rd to 6 th then play off against each other for the final promotion spot.    The crowds. One indication of the vibrancy of a league are the attendances. On that score the Championship measures up very well. Last season the average crowd was over 18,000, with Champions Newcastle averaging an amazing 43,387 spectators per game. With only two out of the 24 teams averaging below 10,000 and 9 teams averaging over 20,000 the level of support is also consistently high. In the 2008-2009 season more people attended Championship matches than attended Serie A making it the fourth best supported league in Europe  (admittedly with 24 teams there are quite a lot more games played)     Unpredictability. This league constantly confounds the experts. Last year’s relegation favourites Blackpool found themselves promoted through the play-offs into the Premier League while one of the stronger teams in the division Sheffield Wednesday were relegated to League One. As well as being unpredictable the races at the top and bottom of the table are often very tight. Last season Newcastle ran away with the title but the race for the play-offs went right to the end of the season. This year with no Premier league giant the race promises to be more open than ever.    The play-offs and the play off final. The third-placed and sixth-placed teams and the third and fourth-placed teams play each other in a knock-out match over two legs with the winners going on to play each other in a single match final at Wembley stadium. For many supporters this is the only chance they will get to see their team play at the national stadium in front of a 90,000 crowd. The match is billed as the biggest match in world football and with some justification as the winner will be guaranteed over 90 million pounds of television income over the following 4 years even if relegated after one season (these are known as parachute payments).     The play-offs and the play off final. The third-placed and sixth-placed teams and the third and fourth-placed teams play each other in a knock-out match over two legs with the winners going on to play each other in a single match final at Wembley stadium. For many supporters this is the only chance they will get to see their team play at the national stadium in front of a 90,000 crowd. The match is billed as the biggest match in world football and with some justification as the winner will be guaranteed over 90 million pounds (1) of television income over the following 4 years even if relegated after one season (these are known as parachute payments).   Away games. In the Premier League you often find that away supporters are allocated only a couple of thousand tickets. Away support in a place like Old Trafford can find itself drowned out by the noise of 70,000 home supporters. In the Championship you often find that the percentage of tickets sold to away fans is higher resulting in a better atmosphere especially for a keenly contested derby match.   A level playing field. Or should we say a slightly more level playing field, certainly when compared to the Premier League where the gap between rich and poor is huge. Even the parachute payments don’t seem to make that much of a difference as most clubs tend to spend all the money before they get relegated leaving them no better off. Out of the three relegated clubs this year, Burnley are the only one not to have already spent their 4 years of television money. Here more than in most leagues a clever manager who trades wisely on the transfer market and brings in the right loan players from the Premier League can make the difference between relegation and promotion. Last year in the Premier League when Wolverhampton Wanderers played away at Manchester United they fielded their second team. The manager argued that there was no point in chasing a point that they couldn’t win and that it would be better to preserve his first eleven for the more winnable home match against lower opposition at the weekend. In contrast every Championship team plays to win every match.      Big teams and big players. The Championship contains teams with some of the most illustrious history in English and European football. Three of the original 1888 founders of the English Football League (Burnley, Derby County and Preston North End) play in the division. Only two teams in the Championship (Doncaster Rovers and Scunthorpe United) have never played in the top tier of English football. Big sides include double European champions Nottingham Forest and UEFA Cup winners Leeds United and Ipswich Town. As well as giants of the past there are also potential giants of the future. Owned by the fifth richest man in the world Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, Queen’s Park Rangers are therefore said to be the richest club in world football. There is also a mix of talented players loaned from Premier League clubs and seasoned professionals who are too old for the top flight but still wanted to play a season or two more. This season Bristol City have England World Cup keeper David James between the sticks, Cardiff have the services of David Bellamy on loan from Manchester City (with all their new signings they obviously felt that they didn’t need him but were not willing to loan him to Premier League rival) and Crystal Palace have just announced the signing of Edgar Davids on a pay-as-you-play basis.   Long season, non-stop entertainment. With 46 matches as well as the Carling and FA cups the Championship season is a two-match a week affair. There is no need to go through withdrawal symptoms and start watching meaningless Europa League Group matches between Eastern European teams that you’ve never heard of.  It’s also funny that even though the players are on a fraction of the salary of their Premier League counterparts, Championship players don’t seem to suffer so much from exhaustion.   So, with all these reasons, if you are a hard-core football fan and you like the English style of play, then you could do much worse than to start following this invisible giant of European football. The first-step is to choose a team, so here are some teams to watch this season:   Queens Park Rangers: As mentioned above the richest team in the world. Now that has left the club they seem to have decided to leave the management to manage the club and the manager to manage the team. In Neil Warnock they have perhaps the most capable manager at this level in England.        Derby County: Managed by Nigel, son of the legendary late Brian Clough the man who made Nottingham Forest the champions of Europe after taking Derby to a UEFA Cup Final. Nigel is the polar opposite of his brash, opinionated father, but even if he has a fraction of his father’s managerial ability then Derby could far.   Cardiff City: FA Cup finalists two years ago, Cardiff were unlucky to lose in the play-offs and with Craig Bellamy leading the line they should stand a good chance of at least getting in the play offs.   Burnley: As mentioned above they don’t have the debt burden of the other relegated teams, but with an unproved manager it remains to be seen whether they can make their greater financial clout count.

Lots of my Turkish friends have been asking me why England were such a disappointing failure at the World Cup. The more I thought about the question the more complex the answer became. I also realized that when finding reasons or making excuses for England I had to take a look at the other big World Cup flops such as France and Italy and the dark horses such as Uruguay and Ghana. Of course success and failure are relative terms which come about because of expectations and surely the best judge of expectations would be the free market. Before the tournament began I spent some time looking at the total market value of some of the squads in the tournament (well, it’s better than train-spotting). The first thing you notice is that there aren’t any definitive statistics. In the evaluations I looked at the value of England squad ranked variously from second to fourth (however as you would expect every survey valued the Spanish squad at the top way above all the others). So on paper it looked like England could be expected to at least get to the semi-finals, but unfortunately there is a very uneasy relationship between money and football - as Real Madrid demonstrated last season with their spectacular failure to win anything - and I certainly wasn’t willing to risk betting on England. As for Spain, they proved the statistics and everybody else right, so where does that leave us with the correlation between the market value of a squad and the performance on the pitch?     Official FIFA World Rankings (another matter for discussion) and market value of squads as of 14.07.10 Figures taken from www.transfermarkt.co.uk/   Missing from this chart are Italy and France, ranked 11 th and 21 st respectively according to FIFA rankings and 4 th and 3 rd respectively in terms of market value. There are also some other surprises when we rank according to market value:       Of course determining market value is by no means an objective process. Footballers are not commodities so any value is nominal. In the case of the England squad the figures quoted may be inflated by the fact that the English Premier league is, in the case of domestic players of course, a very insular market indeed. An English Premier League club might splash out x millions on Peter Crouch (valued at ₤10.8m on transfermarkt.co.uk ) or Germaine Defoe (valued at ₤15.3m), but it is highly unlikely that anybody in Spain, Germany or Italy would. They have an ample supply of players at this level available much cheaper and willing to play for much lower wages. At present the only English footballer of note playing in a major European league is Jermaine Pennant at Real Zaragoza and he went there on a free transfer after his contract with Liverpool expired in 2008. English clubs are willing to pay 20% or 30% over the odds (some would say much more) for a player who won’t have the usual difficulties that foreign players have getting used to life in the UK and playing a different style of football (away to Wigan on a freezing Wednesday evening can’t be particularly appealing to a Brazilian international, no wonder Robinho went home). The only players likely to go abroad are the Galacticos such as Gerard and Rooney, following in the footsteps of the two most notable exiles of the last decade Owen and Beckham.   When we take a look at other national teams the greatest overachievers by far are semi-finalists Uruguay, who don’t even make the top 15, with a market value of just over £125m, but that can be explained away by saying that there is always one dark horse at each World Cup. With lesser known teams there is also the chance of new talent coming to light resulting in a sudden jump in the market value of the squad. It might be worth taking a look at the market value of Uruguay in a few months time to see if there has been a notable increase. Russia are the most valuable team that didn’t manage to get into the finals despite, take note Turkish FA, being managed by the legendary Guus Hiddink. Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Portugal all failed to reach the knock-out stages. However, when we take a closer look at the market value of each squad what we see is that the value is not spread throughout the side. In the case of Ivory Coast there are three players, Drogba, Kolo Toure and Yaya Toure who account for nearly 40% of the total market value, Cameroon have Eto accounting for a whopping 27% and Portugal have Ronaldo making up 25% of theirs. On the other hand the most impressive African nation, quarter-finalists Ghana, have a market value of just £54m. So although we know that one or two stars don’t make a team it is certainly worth stressing that they do distort the market value figures.        Even if we do accept that the market valuation of the England squad is seriously exaggerated (along with their FIFA ranking, another discussion for another day), it is fair to say that England grossly underperformed at South Africa 2010, although not as much as the troubled French squad perhaps. English football needs to look more closely not just at itself but also at its European neighbours to see what it is doing right and wrong. The English Premier League is without doubt the best league in the world and the richest, but could it also be the reason for the decline in English football?   As Spain and England both clearly demonstrated in very different ways it takes more than a team of highly-paid stars to win a World Cup. Even though the market value figures for football teams can clearly be distorted by market conditions or the presence of one or two global super stars, they should still provide us with an indication of where a team should be in the FIFA rankings and how that team can be expected to perform in a major tournament. Finally, hats off to Spain who won the World Cup not just because they had the most valuable squad, but because they played the most consistently good football. They also showed the necessary character to overcome the shock defeat against Switzerland, an event which pulled them together as a squad (in contrast to England who seemed to be on the verge of going into a French style meltdown after draws against USA and Algeria). Their success was a team effort, sorry correction squad effort. You could sense the unity from top to bottom. Whatever their market value, it is going to take an exceptional team to stop Spain from building on this success in 2012 and in Brazil in 2014.

When Chelsea published their accounts for 2008-09 earlier this year, the club announced that its owner, the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich , had written off his mammoth £726m loan to the club, and converted it into shares. But is not quite as clear-cut as that. Abramovich channelled his loans to the club, since taking it over in 2003 and wanting to spend its way to trophies, via a holding company, Chelsea Limited. He loaned money to Chelsea Limited, who then loaned it on to Chelsea FC plc, which runs the club. • Premier League accounts: interactive club-by-club guide • Questions raised over clubs' financial health It is true that the loans from the holding company to Chelsea FC plc were fully converted to shares last year. However Abramovich's loan to Chelsea Limited, the holding company which owns Chelsea FC plc, was not. That loan remains owing; in fact it increased from £701m, because Abramovich loaned another £25m in a year when Chelsea's extravagant spending, and the dismissal of Luiz Felipe Scolari and his coaching team, produced losses of £47m. The accounts of Chelsea Limited (whose name was changed during the year to Fordstam Limited), show that loan still outstanding: £726m, owed to Abramovich. A spokesman for the club confirmed that yesterday: "Recapitalisation of loans happened at the level of Chelsea FC plc, not the holding company (Fordstam), therefore making the football club debt free." That is true. But Fordstam owns the football club company, and owes Abramovich £726m. The loan is interest free, but it is repayable if Abramovich gives 18 months' notice. The Russian could still demand the money back some day, either if the club is making a profit, or if he were to sell it. He has not, in fact, written off the huge loans he has made on his Chelsea adventure.