ISTANBUL
Fenerbahce's central midfielder Emre Belozoglu has been referred to the Turkish Football Federation Ethics Committee after video footage showed him apparently swearing at Besiktas' Croatian manager Slaven Bilic during the derby on March 22, the committee has announced.
The move came on Tuesday after the experienced midfielder for the Turkish Spor Toto Super League title contenders was seen on video footage broadcast by Besiktas' TV channel locked in a foul-mouthed outburst with Bilic at half-time.
In the video on BJK TV, a group of players and staff were seen trying to calm Belozoglu down in the tunnel of Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
The footage shows the player saying: "He [Bilic] stares at my face and walks off. In every match he does this, he does the same sh*t.
"When I say 'f**k off', it causes trouble. Tell him not to flip me the bird anymore! If he does it, I swear ... this is Istanbul."
- 'Sentimental values'
Fenerbahce went on to win the match 1-0.
Meanwhile Turkish newspaper Sabah said on Wednesday that Emre Belozoglu has defended himself, saying: "My fault is to understand what he is swearing in Croatian!
"I reacted to the insults aimed at my family and sentimental values as any Turkish person would. I did not swear at his (Bilic) family and values."
"The ethics committee should judge how he swore in Croatian, rather than my reaction. I reacted to his swearing, but I did not reply by swearing," he added.
The committee is supposed to complete the examination and investigation within a month and can take Bilic's statement and warn or reprimand Emre.
Both sides can appeal to an arbitration committee within seven days.
