Cüneyt Çakır retires: long-time top referee can leave the top stage with his head held high

Was there a better referee in the whole 2010s decade? In my opinion, no. Today by far the best Turkish referee ever announced that his active career is over effective immediately.

 

 

For the final time this week, he ended a match with his characteristic three-fold gestures. A UEFA Elite category referee for twelve seasons, a reliable companion in top matches for mostly all of that period, Çakir's achievements on the pitch actually cannot be be understated. Stating that he retired now in order to become a referee instructor in his native Turkey, TFF certainly have now a remarkable educator now in the midst. A Champions League final, five major tournaments (+ we lost count of all the semifinals!) - I'm not sure that any referee was equal to him in the ability to handle not just the most sonorous fixtures, but also the most technically demanding and challenging ones, especially with such longevity spanning a decade.

Having come on to the scene hoisted into a Europa League semifinal return match whilst still in the old Premier category in 2010, Çakir certainly experienced a remarkable trajectory. In only his second year in Elite, he scored appointments to both the Barcelona vs. Chelsea and EURO 2012 semifinals. Under the heading of "Nani", he certainly caught the wider world's attention nearly ten years ago now(!). The achievement of handling two Champions League matches in the last four will surely never be equalled(?), and indeed at three of his five major tournaments, the Turkish official was saved to handle matches in the semifinals. A referee of such class deserved a better end than the events beginning on 13.10.19 led to, but without any doubt - Çakir can leave with his head held high, having served (European) football quite excellently for many years.

 

Thank you for all the memories, Mr. Çakır. It was a pleasure.