Besiktas club scraps promising footballer’s contract over dating app profile

Promising Turkish footballer Emirhan Delibas had his contract terminated with top-tier club Besiktas after he was reportedly discovered to have created a profile on the Bumble dating app. (Social Media)

• Turkish Super Lig club announced on X that they had ‘amicably parted ways’ with Emirhan Delibas
• 21-year-old player denies that the Bumble profile is his, and labels account ‘fake’

BEIRUT: Promising Turkish footballer Emirhan Delibas had his contract terminated with top-tier club Besiktas after he was reportedly discovered to have created a profile on the Bumble dating app.
Images circulated across social media showed that Delibas’s age on the verified Bumble account was 24, meanwhile his age as per Besiktas’s records is 21. The profile also showed the player posing in the club’s jersey.
News around Beskitas terminating the contract of their academy player surfaced late on Monday shortly after the blue-ticked account was spotted and went viral across social media.
The Super Lig club announced on X that they had “amicably parted ways” with Delibas, who has denied that the profile is his and labelled the account “fake.”
The rising star made two senior appearances before leaving but had progressed through Besiktas’ youth academy and represented them at various age levels.
“We have parted ways with professional football player Emirhan Delibas by mutual agreement. We wish Emirhan Delibas success in his future career and present it to the public,” the club said on X without announcing the reasons.
Turkish media reports said that the player posted on his Instagram: “I reject the slanders made by fake accounts and would like to state that my loyalty to my team cannot be questioned.”
Commenting over the incident, Emirati football fan and lawyer Salem Al-Hammadi told Arab News that nowadays a footballer’s behavior, on and off the field, was related — and important.
“A player’s behavior is linked to his contract on the field through his commitment to training and performance, and off the field, if he commits to a healthy lifestyle, through having healthy food and not staying up late,” Al-Hammadi said.
A player influenced fans and the club’s reputation, and this imposed an obligation on footballers not to behave in a way that could harm their club’s reputation, he said.
“This is what we have noticed through political problems, for example. All players’ actions off the pitch are monitored by their fans (on social media) and have a direct impact. So, players must pay good attention to their behavior, and clubs have to include all matters in the contracts,” Al-Hammadi said.
Meanwhile, retired Lebanese footballer and coach Ibrahim Hassan said that when he played football in the 1970s and 1980s social media didn’t exist, so such matters did not impact players or clubs.
“Nowadays, any tiny detail matters and it could strain the relationship between a footballer and his club or fans. It’s true that footballers are human beings, but eventually they are considered public figures who need to be attentive, as any unacceptable or misbehavior on social media could be devastating … anything they post or do could jeopardize their contracts,” said Hassan, who recalled a number of incidents involving footballers who were terminated or punished for supporting Palestinians amid the Gaza war.
However, football fan Jad Maroun believes that players have a right to some “private and family life,” especially on social media. “Players are independent humans who also have the right to express their views and not be punished twice, by clubs or fans … I guess Besiktas’s decision to terminate the player is harsh and unfair,” Maroun said.
Delibas has also represented Turkiye at U-17, U-18 and U-19 level.