UCL: Buruk slams referee after Galatasaray defeat by Sporting

Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has criticised the referee after his side suffered a 3-1 defeat by Sporting CP in the Champions League, claiming key decisions played a major role in the result.

Galatasaray took an early lead in Lisbon but Sporting fought back, with Luis Suárez converting a second-half penalty to put the hosts ahead before Rodrigo Zalazar completed the comeback.

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Buruk said his side had been in control throughout the first half and created several opportunities while keeping Sporting away from goal.

“We actually played a very comfortable first half,” Buruk said in comments shared by Galatasaray on X. “Our opponents couldn’t get anywhere near our goal. The chances we created, our possession, the way we pinned them back in their own half… Everything was going very well.”

The Turkish side were eventually punished when Sporting scored from one of their limited opportunities.

“They only had one chance, one shot at our goal, and that ended up being a goal,” Buruk said.

The manager was particularly unhappy with the penalty awarded to Sporting early in the second half following a VAR review. Suárez made no mistake from the spot to give the Portuguese side a 2-1 lead.

Buruk questioned whether the decision was appropriate for a Champions League match.

“Of course, at this level, to give a penalty like that in the Champions League is simply not acceptable,” he said.

He also criticised Norwegian referee Espen Eskås, saying he had previously experienced his officiating during a match in Istanbul.

“We complain about refereeing in Turkey, don’t we? Well, today we saw the Norwegian referee here as well,” Buruk said. “We had already had an experience with him in Istanbul before.”

Buruk claimed the referee should also have shown a red card to a Sporting player during the first half and argued that both incidents influenced the final score.

“Today, the red card he failed to give in the first half and the penalty he awarded when there was no penalty directly affected the score,” he said.

The Galatasaray manager added that conceding the penalty had a significant psychological effect on his players.

“That caused our team to drop significantly, especially after we went 2-1 down,” he said.

Sporting held on to complete the comeback and secure a 3-1 victory, giving them three points from their opening Champions League match while Galatasaray were left to rue their missed opportunities and disputed decisions.