TVF President Mehmet Akif Üstündağ's harsh response to Italian League President Fabris | Marina Markova statement

Turkey Volleyball Federation President Mehmet Akif Üstündağ made statements on the agenda at the press conference organized by Bioderma and Turkey Volleyball Federation for women's and men's volleyball national teams.

The signing ceremony held at TVF Burhan Felek Vestel Volleyball Hall was attended by TVF President Mehmet Akif Üstündağ, NAOS Central Asia Regional General Manager, Turkey Country Manager Bayram Kaymak, NAOS Marketing Director Hazal Sarıgül, İlkin Aydın from the A National Women's Volleyball Team, Dilay Özdemir and Onur Günaydı from the National Men's Volleyball Team, TVF Board Member and Press Spokesperson Mustafa Alpaslan, TVF Supervisory Board Member Umut Bağlı, TVF Corporate Communications and Marketing Director Sezgin Eren, National Women's Volleyball Team Manager Pelin Çelik attended the event.

Recently, the President of the Italian Volleyball League Mauro Fabris made a comparison between "money and rock stars" for the volleyball players playing in Turkey and said "You come to us for money, but you go to Turkey only for money. That is the difference. Athletes come to Italy because they find a competitive league, a serious environment and a very high technical quality. Turkey has very strong clubs and a different system from ours. But in Italy there is an ecosystem that produces quality. If we are at the top of the world as we are, I can't even imagine where we would be if we had the economic resources in Turkey."Üstündağ said the following about the issue:

"It is disturbing that the president of a professional league in Italy is talking back and forth and making comments about my country. I don't see him as my interlocutor. I think that this person is not my interlocutor and since he is not my interlocutor, I refused the appointment request that he was expecting from me. Because I said that I will not deal with a league employee, but as the president of a federation representing Turkish volleyball, as the president of a branch that is the pride of this country, I will deal with the people I should deal with. And in this process, I will not let anyone say anything to my players, coaches, teams, stakeholders, fans, everyone who contributed to my country. If I am the president of this community, I am also the spokesperson of that community. These children are entrusted to us, I take care of our boys and girls. We are doing greatness to these children. We exist with them, we will continue to exist with them..."

"We have no problem with Italy. We have no problems with individuals. Even the clubs of his own country reacted to that person. He also sent me a letter of apology. It is not nice for him to act as if he didn't send it afterwards. I just wanted to say that I am ending this issue here."

MARINA MARKOVA STATEMENT

Recently, VakıfBank's Russian star Marina Markova's comments about her transition to Turkish citizenship and then wearing the Turkish National Team jersey, "I guess she didn't get a Turkish identity either, she is not in the Turkish National Team, but she is Turkish in everything. He has a very good family. I saw them, they were excited, they came to the Final Four. If he wants, our door is always open for him. We are open and transparent in the situation of our teams. As far as I know, she has a contract with Vakıfbank until 2030. If he comes like Vargas from Malatya, we welcome him. We can do it from a city, from somewhere. If he comes, he is more than welcome." Üstündağ's words are as follows;

"When Markova preferred a club in Turkey, he embraced this country and did good things. Today, Vargas was also facing such a problem when he came to Turkey. But in the process, time and circumstances showed what happened and as a result Vargas became a Turkish citizen and represented the national team. Markova is a successful athlete. If she accepts, if she wants, our door is open to her. Either to continue here as a foreign athlete or to prefer us. Our door is open, she has a place above our heads."

"The issue of foreigners in Turkish sports is also criticized. Why should the entire team in a branch be foreign.... But we have been maintaining the stability of foreigners for nine years, especially during my presidential term. Look here, our success in national teams is equal to our success in clubs. Of course, we don't have the right to criticize why you brought foreign athletes to some clubs in our country. We don't and we shouldn't: quality, good players will contribute to this country. Wherever, whenever and however they want to be, our door is always open. But this does not mean that 'Yes, we want to make Markova a citizen immediately.' We have never had such a saving until today. She is happy that she has made a long-term contract here. As far as I know, she has a contract until 2030. Therefore, he will serve this country and his team until 2030. "

"When we look at the criticism, it's not that we prefer foreigners and ignore the players in the youth or A team or national teams. We do not close the door to them either. In other words, we have no idea of closing the door to them and opening the door to foreigners who are citizens. We do not take every foreigner into Turkish status. Therefore, I don't think these criticisms are very logical and reasonable. We don't only do these things with foreigners. I have sons like lions, both our Sultans and Efes are fighting for their country with the national team jersey. Today, let's talk about a record, let's talk about a first: We didn't achieve this success just by recruiting a foreigner: of course, this was a reinforcement, this was a support, but there was an infrastructure before this... When we look at it, there is only one branch that has made the National Anthem sung and the flag raised to the skies, and that is volleyball. In other words, volleyball was the only team sport. And we didn't achieve this only with the contribution of a foreigner, how did we achieve this? We achieved this with a planning, a structure and players starting from the infrastructure, starting from the foundation, starting from scratch. We still want to continue this success. So, whether Markova is there or not is not something we take into consideration. But as I said, our door is open to everyone, foreign and local. Whoever can contribute to Turkish volleyball is welcome to come."

'WE WANT TO MOVE TURKISH VOLLEYBALL FORWARD'

Mehmet Akif Üstündağ said: "We have a very valuable and long-term cooperation with Bioderma. We now look at them not only as a sponsor but also as a "host" who is a part of this journey. Today, we are happy to move this strong partnership from official sponsorship to main sponsorship. We have all witnessed the success of Turkish volleyball in recent years and today we are here to share that we will continue our journey with the support of the main sponsor with the 3-year agreement we signed with Bioderma. The most important factor for us is unity of heart, common values and a true companionship. We continue to contribute to the development of Turkish volleyball by acting together in good times and difficult times. Hosting such big organizations has both challenges and great responsibilities. The support of our sponsors is extremely valuable for us in this process. We have come this far together with Bioderma and we will continue on our way with the same belief and determination for the next 3 years. Our athletes are also working with great devotion to repay this support in the best way possible on the field. Just as we proudly enjoyed the successes we achieved yesterday, we want to continue the same successes tomorrow and carry Turkish volleyball even further."

On the other hand, speaking about the importance of contributing to the development of Turkish volleyball, NAOS Central Asia Regional General Manager, Turkey Country Manager Bayram Kaymak said, "We are at a very special and proud point today in this journey that we started to walk side by side with the Turkish Volleyball Federation in 2021. Today, I am very happy to say that as Bioderma, we are now the Main Sponsor of the Turkish Volleyball National Teams. As Bioderma, we are the market leader in the sector we operate in. At the same time, among NAOS countries, NAOS Turkey is the second largest country. However, the meaning of our investment in volleyball is not limited to business results; this investment also represents a social responsibility. We believe it is very important to contribute to Turkish youth and athletes to play sports in healthier conditions. Therefore, sponsorship is not just a budget decision for us; it has a much deeper meaning. It is especially valuable for us to make our female athletes more visible. The fact that any young girl today can watch the Sultans of Filenin and say "I can do it too" is of inestimable value for us. Likewise, one of our biggest motivations is to support a young person who starts sports to stay in it. We are very happy to see volleyball gaining a bigger place in the daily lives of Turkish people. One of the main objectives of our investment is to contribute to the spread of volleyball culture to a wider audience. The vision of "volleyball country" is very important for us and we are very proud to see the rewards of this vision on the court."