The Central Refereeing Committee (MHK) rejected claims about a closed-door virtual meeting held on March 1 with the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President Mehmet Büyükekşi, saying that it was a routine training meeting.

"Some parts of this internal meeting, which was closed to the public, was published on some social media outlets, taken out of context, by irresponsible and ill-intentioned individuals, to manipulate public opinion," the MHK said in a statement.

The committee continued by saying that such meetings review critical referee decisions made in the past week and discuss precedents to reach the best conclusions.

Noting that it is illegal to publish such closed-door meetings, the MHK said an investigation has been launched regarding the matter.

MHK also said it has published the meeting on TFF’s YouTube channel to clear wrong perceptions.

At the meeting, TFF President Büyükekşi said the TFF has stood beside the referees and has been providing support.

"We are on your side, we trust you, please never forget this," he said, adding that referees do not have to deal with football clubs, but the federation.

"What is our duty? It is to referee in an extremely just manner and to always stand on the side of justice. If we do this, nobody can say anything to us," he said.

He also told the referees that it does not matter which team becomes a champion or which team drops from the league.