Sofiane Feghouli GalatasarayAA

‘North African footballers don’t have anger problems’ – Feghouli hits back after red card in Galatasaray loss

Galatasaray winger Sofiane Feghouli apologised and took responsibility for his first career red card in his team’s 3-1 loss to Trabzonspor in Sunday’s Turkish Super Lig encounter.

The 30-year-old was shown a straight red just after the half-hour mark for unsportsmanlike behaviour before the Lions suffered a blow in their league title defence race.

Sunday's loss stretched Galatasaray's winless run to six leagues games with their last victory dating back to March 1 when they humbled Genclerbirligi 3-0.

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Following his sending off, Feghouli was heavily criticised by a Turkish football columnist Levent Tuzemen, who urged the Galatasaray chiefs not to buy players from North Africa again because of their discipline and anger.

"In Galatasaray, administrators and coaches should stop buying players from North Africa,” Tuzemen said.

“North African players such as Belhanda and Feghouli have problems with discipline and anger. It is not easy to play against Trabzonspor with high quality feet such as Sosa, Sorloth, Ekuban.”

In his response on Monday, Feghouli - who has contributed six goals and three assists in 25 league outings this term - admitted that his expulsion caused the team’s defeat and also described Tuzemen’s comments as racist.

“This is the first time I have been kicked out of the game in 13 years of my professional football career,” he tweeted.

“I am clearly wrong and take responsibility for this. The defeat last night stems from my mistake. North African footballers do not have "anger" problems on the field.

“Levent Tuzemen is like a racist person. You are saying that such players should not be taken in ignorant and wrong manner. When making your analysis, be equal to all origins because this is a lack of respect.”

Feghouli has been playing for Galatasaray since 2017, and he has helped Fatih Terim's side win two Super Lig titles, a Turkish Cup and the Turkish Super Cup in 2019.

The Lions will be aiming to end their poor run of form when they visit Alanyaspor for their next top-flight fixture on Wednesday.

They are fourth in the league table with 52 points after 30 games, 11 points behind leaders Istanbul Basaksehir.

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