The crisis facing Fenerbahçe has deepened in recent hours following the sacking last night of manager Domenico Tedesco, just 24 hours after suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat in the derby against their arch-rivals, Galatasaray: a result that also left the club with no chance of winning their first league title in over a decade. Having also been knocked out of European competitions and the Turkish Cup, the disaster of the derby has been seen as the biggest disappointment of the season for the yellow and blue side and proved the final straw for the Italian manager.
The club’s board of directors held an urgent meeting following the defeat to Galatasaray. Although Fenerbahçe’s board meetings usually take place on Mondays at 7.00 pm, on this occasion the meeting was called urgently and brought forward to 2.00 pm Turkish time. Following a meeting that lasted around two hours, the directors travelled to the club’s training facilities at the Samandıra Can Bartu Centre to meet with manager Domenico Tedesco, sporting director Devin Özek and the players.
Finally, in an official statement, Fenerbahçe announced that, following a decision by its board of directors, the club had decided to terminate the contracts of its manager and coaching staff: “We have terminated the contracts of our manager Domenico Tedesco and his coaching staff. Furthermore, it has been decided to terminate the contracts of our sporting director, Devin Özek, and our football coordinator, Berke Çelebi. We thank them for their contribution to the club and wish them every success in their future careers. Our assistant manager, Zeki Murat Göle, will take charge of the team for the remainder of the season,” the statement read.
According to reports published in the Turkish newspaper Fanatik and picked up by various media outlets in the country, controversial remarks by Tedesco in which he spoke of the existence of a “mole” at the Samandıra training ground – in a possible reference to one of his players – are said to have caused great unease among the board and were reportedly key to the final decision to sack him immediately, without waiting for the season to end.
Tedesco, Mourinho’s successor, also failed to find his place at the club
The Italian’s dismissal brings to an end a brief spell marked by inconsistency. Tedesco, aged 40, arrived in Turkey with a reputation for tactical flexibility following his spells at RB Leipzig and as Belgium’s national team manager; he was appointed on 8 September 2025 to succeed José Mourinho – whose time at Fenerbahçe left behind more words and controversy than results – but he also failed to provide the consistency needed tou nseat Galatasaray from the top of the Süper Lig table. Under Tedesco’s leadership, Fenerbahçe played 45 competitive matches across three competitions: the Turkish Süper Lig, the Europa League and the Turkish Cup, recording 26 wins, 12 draws and 7 defeats.
Sunday’s defeat in the so-called “Intercontinental Derby” left Fenerbahçe seven points behind their rivals with just three matchdays remaining in the season. The club has not won the league since 2014: a “drought” that has increased the pressure on the board and the coaching staff to secure a title. The team now faces a tough rebuilding period in an attempt to break Galatasaray’s dominance, which currently seems unbreakable, as they are on course to be crowned Turkish league champions for the fourth consecutive year.
As well as in Turkey, the sacking of Domenico Tedesco by Fenerbahçe has also caused a major stir in the European press. The Spanish newspaper Marca reported the news with the headline: “Crisis at Asensio’s Fenerbahçe: sacks the manager, the sporting director and the football coordinator”. For its part, the German Bild highlighted: “Former Bundesliga manager Tedesco sacked!”. “The humiliating defeat cost Tedesco his job”, “The derby sealed the fate of the former Schalke manager”, or “Fenerbahçe is a club that devours its managers: after Mourinho, Tedesco was also sacked”, were among the other eye-catching headlines with which the press in Europe reacted to the news.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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