Turkish Cypriot football officials determined to unify despite protest (Update 4)

By Angelos Anastasiou
The Turkish Cypriot Football Association (TCFA) has applied to join the ranks of the Cyprus Football Federation (CFA) after a 45-day ultimatum it had issued to resolve Turkish Cypriot footballers’ transfer fees expired, chairman Hasan Sertoglu announced on Monday.
In a letter to FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, copied to CFA chairman Costakis Koutsokoumnis, Sertoglu informed football’s governing body of the TCFA’s intention to harmonise its charter so that it can apply for CFA membership.
Not recognised internationally, the TCFA has taken on the authorities in the north over Turkish Cypriot football clubs being denied transfer fees for players signed by Turkish clubs – their only shot at professional football.
Sertoglu sought to address this problem by holding talks with Koutsokoumnis, which culminated in an agreement to incorporate the TCFA into the island’s only recognised professional football association – with FIFA’s blessing and public support.
But in a last-ditch effort to thwart Sertoglu’s plans, Turkish Cypriot ‘Sports Minister’ Serdar Denktash last week filed with FIFA for permission to open a branch of the Turkish Football Federation in the north – ostensibly to offer Turkish Cypriot footballers a way into international football through Turkey – which was heavily criticised domestically and summarily denied by FIFA.
Refusing to give up on opposing Sertoglu’s plans, Denktash followed up his failed attempt at attaching Turkish Cypriot football to Turkey by sending a letter to Turkish Cypriot clubs, warning them that applying to join the CFA would constitute an “act of political bankruptcy and suicide”.
Denktash urged clubs to put the issue to a general assembly before consenting to sign on to the application.
He described the decision to apply for CFA membership as “outrageous” and “political”, adding that it will create discrimination between “citizens and clubs”.
Denktash signed off his letter with a clear threat that CFA membership will mean the end of Turkish Cypriot football as ‘government’ funding to the clubs will be denied, and they will be faced with bankruptcy.
In a news conference on Monday, Sertoglu dismissed Denktash’s charges, denying that his efforts had political implications.
“The TCFA is struggling to safeguard the future of Turkish Cypriot youths and its actions have no political goals,” he said.
“We will complete our charter as soon as possible and put it before the association’s general assembly.”
Following Sertoglu’s news conference, Denktash went back on the offensive, announcing his ministry had “suspended relations” with the TCFA.
And asked whether this move was supported by coalition partners National Unity Party, he noted that “even if our coalition partners think otherwise, this association is connected to our ministry, so we can suspend relations if we want to”.
Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu also weighed in on Monday afternoon, saying he had “warned” Sertoglu that joining the CFA would be detrimental to Turkish Cypriot football.
Eroglu added that the Turkish Cypriot Association has a charter, noting that the law does not allow them to join the CFA as and when they please.
He called on the TCFA to be “very careful” as the church does not allow Greek Cypriot teams to play in the occupied areas.
“I don’t believe in the Greek Cypriots’ honesty,” he said.
The TCFA’s decision to change its statutes, and put them for ratification to its members “as soon as possible” comes 17 months after an initial agreement was signed in Zurich in November 2013 with CFA chairman Koutsokoumnis in the presence of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini.
Under the terms of the Zurich agreement, the TCFA is to apply to be a member of the CFA, which will now mean Turkish Cypriot clubs and players coming under the jurisdiction of the CFA which would then recognise the TCFA as one of its associate members.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.