Scoring Skillful Own Goals When Everybody's Talking About Fixed Matches Probably Isn't A Good Move
When Galatasaray's Semih Kaya adeptly directed a ball past his own goalkeeper this weekend, it knotted the much-anticipated Istanbul Derby vs. Besiktas at two goals a piece with fewer than 20 minutes remaining.
Thing is, apparently the match was secondary in the minds of Turkish footies.
The talk of the town this week has not been the Galatasaray-Beşiktaş derby at Türk Telekom Arena on Sunday, but rather Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım's defense — or more accurately "attack" — in the ongoing match-fixing trial in Silivri, İstanbul.
Yıldırım had promised to present a solid defense against every charge directed against him in the prosecutor's indictment. But he did very little of that at the İstanbul 16th High Criminal Court this week.
The Fener chairman, instead of rebutting the charges leveled against him, launched a scathing attack on everybody and blamed everyone except himself.
You can read more about the honorable Fenerbahce chairman via this story in Today's Zaman. If you haven't already.
If any match-fixing mullers got to suspecting Kaya shenanigans, however, those thoughts probably disappeared when teammate Johan Elmander came to the rescue with this pretty game winner:
Quaresma shines but Besiktas beaten in Istanbul derby [PortuGOAL]
Why LeBron James Isn't the Perfect Fit for the Miami Heat
Three MLB Futures Bets to Make After the All-Star Break
- Three MLB Futures Bets to Make After the All-Star Break
- Three Heisman Trophy Sleepers Worth Betting Before the 2026 Season
- England vs. Argentina Best Bets: Three Picks for the World Cup Semifinal
- MLB All-Star Game Best Bets: Picks, Odds and Predictions for AL vs. NL
- Best Big Ten 2026 College Football Win Total Future Betting Picks
- 2026 Home Run Derby Props: Three Best Bets for Monday Night
- Home Run Derby 2026 Picks, Odds and Predictions for Monday Night

