Footballer Emirhan Delibas has been let go by his club, Besiktas, after a dating profile with false information about his age went viral. The 21-year-old winger, who made only two senior appearances for the Turkish team, denies that the profile is his and calls it ‘fake’.
It’s believed that the decision to part ways was linked to this alleged Bumble profile. The club wished him well in a statement: “We have parted ways with professional football player Emirhan Delibas by mutual agreement. We wish him success in his future career.”
The controversial profile showed a photo of Delibas in Besiktas’ training kit, claiming he was 24 and looking for ‘something casual’. Delibas responded on Instagram, saying: “I reject the slanders made by fake accounts and would like to state that my loyalty to my team cannot be questioned.” He added: “Besiktas is a responsibility for me. Your love has been my greatest motivation.”
Delibas had a stint with Besiktas, playing in their Super Lig loss to Kasimpasa in January. He also briefly appeared in the Europa Conference League for the Turkish team, although his total playtime for the season was just 14 minutes. Delibas started his football journey in the youth teams at Besiktas in 2010 when he was only seven years old. He has also played for Turkey’s U-17, U-18 and U-19 teams.
Currently, Besiktas are fourth in the Super Lig, but they’re far behind the leaders who are more than twenty points ahead. The Turkish team were knocked out of Europe in the group stages after winning just one of their six matches.
Eric Bailly, a former Manchester United player, is another player who had his Besiktas contract terminated this season. The Ivorian joined the Turkish team in September, but a disagreement with a teammate and an alleged curse led to his early departure from Istanbul.
