كتب : Amro Hassan
Turkish media have launched an attack against Aybaba, following the latter's racist comments towards the Egyptian defender and Arabs in general.
When Gencler fans made clear of their dismay against the coach's decision to leave Al-Saqqa out of the team's last two losses, the coach responded by wondering if "The 'Arab' defender was more important than him".
"Since taking over the team, I could see that Aybaba is a racist man, especially against Arabs and Muslims," Al-Saqqa told FilGoal.com.
"He didn't even want me to stay on as club captain. He only surrendered to that after he was pressured by the board."
The 33-year-old added that he witnessed Aybaba's racism towards him on numerous occasions.
"He [Aybaba] was always angry with me whenever I gathered my teammates for praying. He used to tell me that the club is a place for training not praying.
"One time I saluted the players with Islam's greeting alsalamualaikum, he got angry and asked me to say marhaba instead."
Al-Saqqa confirmed that he stayed quiet about his coach's behavior, as he didn’t want to cause a nationwide problem, but now the situation has become intolerable.
Gencler fans reacted Aybaba's behavior by calling for his sacking.
"Aybaba has no place in the Genclerbirligi family. We don’t want a racist manager," read a statement on the club's fan website Alkaralar.