Lucescu unhappy with Galatasaray board

'Embarrassing football'
Players and coaching staff were fined "an amount equivalent to a win bonus" for "embarrassing football" in the defeat against MKE Ankaragücü, the Istanbul club announced on Monday. It was Galatasaray's second loss of the 1. Lig season, although they remain first in the table.

'No disciplinary problems'
However, Lucescu said in a press conference on Tuesday that he disagreed with the board's measures. "It's impossible for me to agree with the board," he said. "There is no disciplinary problem in our team. The Romanian went on to defend his players and said: "This is unacceptable, in my opinion, they deserve nothing but praise. I was very disappointed when I heard the board decided to fine them."

Hakan fined
Midfielder Hakan Ünsal was fined nearly €27,000 for "unprofessional behaviour" after his dismissal in the 2-2 draw against FC Barcelona on 5 December. Hakan and his fellow midfielder Bülent Akin have been given a deadline of 12 December to agree contract extensions with the club and, if not, will face relegation to reserve team and exclusion from first-team training.

Warning from board
The Galatasaray board also warned Hakan and another midfielder Suat Kaya, together with forwards Arif Erdem and Ümit Karan that they will be "free to go" next in the summer if they do not "straighten out their behaviour". Justifying the board's decision, Galatasaray vice-president Fatih Altayli said that anyone who dared to break the club's "strict principles and rules" would be "severely punished."

Criticised signing
Lucescu also criticised the signing of João Batista from Gaziantepspor, saying the player was injured at the time of the transfer. The 26-year-old central midfield player put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year contract with Galatasaray on 29 November.

Nihat deal on hold
Lucescu added that Real Sociedad were correct to postpone the proposed signing of Nihat Kavehci for the same reason. "He was injured and it would have been a mistake to complete the transfer," the Galatasaray boss said. Last week, Nihat's move from Besiktas JK to Primera División strugglers Real Sociedad for a club-record €5m was put on hold owing to a knee-ligament problem uncovered by the player's medical.