ISTANBUL (AP) 鈥� Turkish league leader Galatasaray about referees and 鈥渢he evil inside鈥� at halftime of a win against fierce rival Fenerbahce that all-but sealed another title.
鈥淒espite these referees, we鈥檙e still leading 1-0,鈥� Galatasaray posted in Turkish on its official X account during what would be a 3-0 win in the Istanbul derby Sunday.
鈥淲e see what you鈥檙e doing, your plans, the evil inside you,鈥� the club wrote, adding on its English language account: 鈥淒on鈥檛 let the score distract you from the fact that TWO clear penalties for Galatasaray have been ignored by the referee and the VAR room in the first half.鈥�
The in-game criticism came days after Galatasaray said it was suspending relations with the Turkish Football Federation in a dispute about picking referees for games.
The Gala-Fener rivalry is one of the most intense in world soccer though it has been one-sided on the field in recent years.
Sunday’s victory left Galatasaray seven points clear with three rounds left as it seeks a fourth straight league title. Fenerbahce has not been champion since 2014.
Galatasaray took the lead on Nigeria striker Victor Osimen鈥檚 goal in the 40th minute 鈥� after Fenerbahce missed a penalty 鈥� and then got its own spot kick in the second half. Bar谋艧 Alper Y谋lmaz scored that in the 67th and Lucas Torreira added a third in the 83rd.
Fenerbache goalkeeper Ederson was sent off when the score was 1-0.
Complaints about referees and their integrity are common in the Turkish Super League.
last season, was banned for four games by the federation for criticizing match officials.
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