After Fenerbahce’s point loss against Samsunspor, a notable observation

In the 9th week of the Super Lig, Fenerbahce played an away match against Samsunspor, where they failed to prevent a goal in the 88th minute after taking the lead twice, resulting in a 2-2 draw. Fenerbahce was leading 1-0 at halftime with a goal from Dusan Tadic in the match held at 19 Mayis Stadium. However, three minutes into the second half, they could not stop Holse’s goal, making it 1-1.

Fenerbahce’s coach Jose Mourinho made substitutions in the 58th minute, bringing on Allan Saint-Maximin and Irfan Can Kahveci. After these changes, Maximin scored in the 63rd minute, putting the team back in the lead, 2-1. However, as the match approached its final minutes, Samsunspor increased their pressure, and Soner Aydogdu scored in the 88th minute, making it 2-2. There were no further goals, and both teams left the field with 1 point each.

With this result, Fenerbahce is in 4th place with 17 points and a game in hand, while Samsunspor sits in 3rd place with 19 points.

This season, Istanbul’s “Big Three” clubs have dropped points in a total of 4 games outside of derbies: Galatasaray against Kasimpasa, Besiktas against Antep, and Fenerbahce against Goztepe and Samsun. This is not a positive sign for the league, as the quality of a tournament is determined by the middle-tier teams, not the big clubs. In this regard, Samsun is a standout in the league. They showed a big-team attitude against both Besiktas and Fenerbahce. Yesterday, they particularly challenged the visiting team through passes from the wing rather than crosses. They scored two goals and were denied twice by Livakovic. Dimata also had a clear chance that was blocked.

THEY COULD NOT STOP THE CROSSES
For Fenerbahce, the summary of the day was hidden in the pre-match interview. A Bein Sports reporter asked Mourinho if he had taken any measures against Samsun’s ground-level crosses from the wings. Mourinho initially didn’t understand the question, then simply said, “Stop the crosses.” They couldn’t stop them. Samsun’s first goal came in this way, and in the second goal, a header pass was made to Soner again. The goals seem to be proof that Mourinho fell short in opponent analysis. After all, football is a game played against the opposition.

Referee Muhammet Ali Metoglu from the Rize region was criticized last week for his disciplinary and technical mistakes in the Gaziantep-Besiktas match. After a penalty he awarded with the help of the VAR official, despite initially not giving it, he was appointed to officiate another challenging match, Samsun-Fenerbahce, this week. Metoglu, in an effort to “stay constantly active,” made unnecessary runs throughout the match. These were purely reflections of his nervousness. The young referee also displayed significant weakness in enforcing Rule 12. His delay in issuing cards for Ntcham’s challenge on Fred and Fred’s challenge on Ntcham, as well as his confusion in first showing a yellow card to Satka and then, after a correction, giving it to Ntcham, were clear signs of his inexperience and lack of confidence.

CORRECT OFFSIDE CALL BEFORE TADIC’S PENALTY
The penalty given to Tadic was correct, but since there was an offside prior to the foul, restarting the game with an indirect free kick was the right decision. In the second half, his inconsistency with fouls and yellow cards began to show signs of losing control. One could argue that he lost control of the match, but in truth, he never had it. At one point, while issuing a yellow card to a player, he didn’t notice that the ball was back in play, and at the same time, a second ball thrown by the goalkeeper entered the penalty area, which resulted in a very poor scene for Metoglu.

HE MADE SO MANY MISTAKES THROUGHOUT THE MATCH
In the 75th minute, when Samsunspor was expecting a penalty, Amrabat’s hand was in a natural position, so the decision to play on was correct. Unfortunately, throughout the match, Metoglu made so many mistakes in decisions regarding cards, fouls, throw-ins, corners, and goal kicks. Moreover, he remained indifferent to players who approached him with complaints, using hand gestures and verbal protests. However, I would criticize those who appointed him to this match more than I would criticize Metoglu himself. They have undermined a referee’s confidence with this poor performance.

EN-NESYRI’S INCIDENT WAS NOT A PENALTY
Before Samsunspor’s second goal, Fenerbahce expected either a handball or a foul call. In my opinion, there was no handball, and no foul was committed against Irfan Can. The goal was legitimate, and it wasn’t a situation where VAR should have intervened. In the final moments of the match, Fenerbahce fans argued that the challenge on Youssef En-Nesyri during an aerial duel should have been a foul, but that contact did not warrant a penalty. It was not an incident for VAR to get involved either.