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Türkiye Football Federation (TFF) President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu has responded to public criticism of the national team's management following Türkiye's World Cup knockout. He spoke about coach Vincenzo Montella's future, player selection, bonuses, and how the federation is run.
In an interview with football commentator Erman Toroglu, Haciosmanoglu explained and defended the federation's decisions.
Haciosmanoglu said Montella will remain head coach, even though Türkiye did not advance past the group stage. He denied that senior players influenced Montella's squad choices, pointing out that Orkun Kokcu and Hakan Calhanoglu both started from the first match.
He also said he was not aware of any incident involving a player's parent causing trouble at the team hotel during the tournament.
Haciosmanoglu clarified that the TFF distributed a $16 million bonus pool, combining $14 million in FIFA prize money with an additional $2 million from the federation.
He stated that the total funds were split equally among all players called up to the squad during the qualifiers. Team captains also collected and shared an extra bonus among themselves.
Furthermore, the TFF chief dismissed legal concerns over promised reward villas, asserting that the properties were not in a protected area, and all building permits had been secured.
Haciosmanoglu said the referees' committee will stay and that there are no plans to bring in foreign VAR officials. He admitted that referee issues will be handled within the federation.
He also said the broadcaster for domestic matches sometimes held back certain camera angles, which caused more controversy, and that he had spoken to them about it.
Haciosmanoglu denied filling the TFF with family or friends, stating that only his nephew, Abdullah Ayaz, works at the federation. He defended the appointment by describing Ayaz as a capable administrator.
The TFF president also dismissed accusations of financial mismanagement, asserting that he personally covers his daily travel expenses. He added that federation staff are required to pay their own traffic fines out of pocket rather than billing the organization.
He denied signing more than 20 players through one agent while he was Trabzonspor president. He said only one player was signed through that agent, and most of those transfers happened before his time.
Haciosmanoglu criticized former national team coach Fatih Terim for hosting a private broadcast and demanding accountability following the team's World Cup performance. While he refrained from issuing a formal federation response, he stated he intends to address the matter with Terim directly in person.
Haciosmanoglu admitted that Montella's assistant, Serkan Damla, was banned for a betting issue. He called it a mistake and said the coach had requested the appointment. He also said the TFF has not received any official letters about the ongoing betting investigation and has acted on all the documents it has received.
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