Galatasaray boss job on line after shock loss

Istanbul (AFP) – The manager of Istanbul football giants Galatasaray Jan Olde Riekerink is facing the sack following a shock weekend league loss, press reports said on Tuesday.

Galatasaray’s top executives held an emergency meeting about the Dutchman’s future following the 1-2 home defeat to lowly Kayserispor on Sunday, the Anadolu news agency and Hurriyet dailies said.

A formal board meeting to be held later Tuesday will make the final decision concerning Riekerink, who has only been at the club for a year, according to the reports.

The defeat left Galatasaray in third place in the Super Lig behind leaders Besiktas and surprise package Basaksehir.

Only victory in the league will satisfy Galatasaray’s management, which has assembled a team packed with stars including Germany’s Lukas Podolski and Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands.

Riekerink told the Fatataik daily that he had not been informed of the discussions about his future.

“It would be normal if the decision taken at that meeting was discussed with me first,” he said.

Hurriyet said that Galatasaray were now scrambling to find a replacement for Riekerink to guide the team until the end of the season.

It said the frontrunner was former Croatian international Igor Tudor, who currently manages Karabukspor in Turkey.

The Turkish Super Lig is notorious for its revolving door managerial jobs but the situation at Galatasaray has been extreme even by local standards.

If appointed, a successor to Riekerink would be the sixth manager to take charge of the club since 2014.