The President of the top-flight Turkish club Genclerbirligi has reportedly denied accusations that the club’s goalkeeper deliberately failed to save the winning goal during a league game against Super Lig leaders Galatasaray. Speaking to the Turkish newspaper Habertürk, Ilhan Cavcav told the paper that goalkeeper Ferhat Kaplan ‘could have reached out better’ to stop Galatasaray defender Wesley Sneijder’s strike, but denied that he had done so on purpose. He reportedly said that Kaplan was ‘an honest goalkeeper with good character.’

Videos of the incident have been widely circulated across the internet, generating speculation that the goalkeeper Kaplan withdrew his outstretched arm before the ball crossed the goal line. The Genclerbirligi official website contains no mention of the incident, with only a brief match report of the game detailing that Sneijder scored the only goal of the game after 67 minutes. The result means that Galatasaray remain top of the Super Lig, six points clear of second place Fenerbahçe.