Frustrated with the Burak Elmas administration's move to fire longtime coach Fatih Terim, Galatasaray fans took to social media late Thursday, calling upon the legendary football genius to stay within the Gala community. Also, many people suggested him to be the club president after an emotional social media post shared by the "Emperor."
In a tweet, Terim shared a combination of photographs showing his first signature that made him a Galatasaray player and the recent one that formalized the termination of his coaching contract.
"My first and last signatures at Galatasaray," Terim said in the tweet.
What's noteworthy about his tweet was that the expression "terminated unilaterally" was visible in the photo, proof that President Elmas was not telling the truth when he said that Terim and the club administration agreed to part ways through mutual consent.
Grieved by the implication in Terim’s tweet that he may never come back to the club again, fans mainly flocked to Twitter, gathering under the "#FatihTerimDontLeaveUs" hashtag.
Galatasaray supporters in anger against the administration have been calling for its total resignation, including the club President Burak Elmas, Işıtan Gün and other club executives.
Elmas' move to fire Terim is widely seen as backstabbing, as the president's main pledge before being elected was to continue with Terim.
The administration brought in Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola's longtime assistant Domenec Torrent to replace Terim.
The Galatasaray administration drew ire from fans for their covert move to replace Terim amid conflicting remarks from club executives.
It was first reported that the administration was searching for an assistant to boost Terim’s technical squad but it turned out that they were indeed looking to replace Terim himself.
In the press conference, President Elmas confessed that Fatih Terim did not have any knowledge about the administration’s efforts to find an assistant for him, even though another member of the administration, Işıtan Gün, said the exact opposite during a YouTube broadcast on the Spor Gecesi Digital channel, claiming that Terim indeed knew about the club’s efforts to find him a better assistant.
Senior sports journalist Ibrahim Seten said in a report that he talked to Fatih Terim, who said he did not wish to leave his position.
"I did not leave through mutual consent, they fired me," Terim reportedly said.
"Compensation is out of the question. It cannot be," he added, underlining that he will not take a penny from the club that he devoted his life to.
Galatasaray fans frustrated with the administration’s move to fire Fatih Terim gathered outside his home in Istanbul on the same day, calling for the resignation of Burak Elmas administration.
