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Four Turkish women allege they were told to leave a seaside restaurant on the Greek island of Chios so that Turkish businessman Acun Ilicali and his family could be seated. Speaking later, Ilicali said he had not realized the situation and added, “If I had noticed, I would have intervened.”
The incident occurred on Aug. 22 at a venue called Roussiko. One of the women, identified as D.Y., told T24 that staff tried to clear only their table even though part of their order had not yet arrived.
She said the owner shouted, “Get out, go to Cesme,” referring to the resort town on the Aegean coast of Türkiye opposite Chios. D.Y. added that, apart from their group, the other customers were Greek and claimed the owner targeted them because they were Turkish and a group of four women.
Ilicali told T24 the commotion unfolded just as his group entered and said he did not understand the women were being moved because of his arrival. He said he had asked the restaurant for a 12-person table and that the owner confirmed space when he recognized him.
“I am learning now that something like this happened because of me,” he said, adding, “If I had noticed, I would have intervened.”
According to D.Y., a waiter said the owner behaves this way when “rich customers” come in.
The women also said that when they began taking photos, the owner made an obscene hand gesture; images from the moment appear to show him posing toward the camera.
Chios is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, situated just across from Cesme, a popular holiday town on Türkiye’s western coast. Roussiko is a restaurant on the island where the dispute allegedly took place.
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