"It's a sign of recognition of the competence and seriousness of our referees. They are questioning the classification system of Turkish referees, whether it is correct or not. If they call Portuguese referees, naturally that makes us satisfied", he stressed.

On the sidelines of taking office for a third and final term as the leader of APAF, Luciano Gonçalves addressed the call of Fábio Melo and André Narciso for the functions of video referee (VAR) in decisive Turkish championship matches.

"The issue that arises there, in fact, is that they are having internal problems in the classification and functioning of the referees. Fortunately, in Portugal we do not have this problem. The problem here has a little to do with the excess of what is said outside the four lines and not with a theme as intrinsic as they have there", he also said.

Fábio Melo, from the Porto Football Association, will be in the game between Alanyaspor and the leader Galatasaray, from Sérgio Oliveira, while André Narciso, from the Setúbal Football Association, will be present in the duel between Karagumruk and Fenerbahçe.

"We are pleased to see the various institutions also interested in the best for refereeing and in giving us the best conditions. The referees want to make as few mistakes as possible and get home with a relaxed life. The referees don't like it when that happens either. They want to do their best, get to the locker room satisfied, get home and be able to live a normal life. That's what they work for every day", he stressed.

Luciano Gonçalves, 43 years old and who has held the position since 2016, also expressed the conviction that there will be Portuguese referees in this year's European Championship, in Germany, which "will not be a favor, but rather due to the competence of the referees".

The high-risk matches of the Turkish championship will have foreign referees in the VAR, including from Portugal, until the end of the season, the Turkish Football Federation announced today.

The organization established an agreement with its counterparts in Portugal, Italy, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands to count on VAR from those federations in the most relevant matches of the Turkish championship, starting with the next round, the 32nd (out of a total of 38).

The announcement comes after criticism from Fenerbahçe president Ali Koç, according to whom the club lost "too many titles in a dubious way", even motivating the abandonment of the Turkish Super Cup match, with Galatasaray, played on Sunday.

Fenerbahçe entered the field with 11 players from the under-19 team and, after suffering the first goal, right in the first minute, returned to the locker room, leading the Turkish federation to declare Galatasaray the winner, 3-0, and to fine the club 115 thousand euros.

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