Brazilian national football player Felipe Melo reacted on Instagram to the resignation of Turkey’s football chief, stating, “Thank god, the Turkish football’s cancer resigned.”
Melo, 35, played for İstanbul’s Galatasaray club between 2011 and 2015 and became an idol of Turkish football fans.
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President Yıldırım Demirören resigned on Thursday following the completion of the transfer of Turkey’s only legal sports betting company, İddaa, to his conglomerate.
While Melo was playing for Galatasaray in 2015, Demirören told reporters that the Brazilian star should not have been part of the İstanbul club. During a ceremony after Galatasaray won the championship title, Melo had refused to shake hands with then-TFF President Demirören.
Demirören was also chairman of the Beşiktaş football club between 2004 and 2012 and later became TFF president, a move that drew criticism from football fans as his tenure at Beşiktaş was controversial.
His late father Erdoğan Demirören had played for Beşiktaş in the 1956-57 season.
Playing 22 times for the Brazilian national team, Melo is currently a member of the Palmeiras football club in Brazil.