Yilmaz announces departure, Fortuna knows nothing: ‘Perhaps mistranslation’

Fortuna Sittard was rocked shortly after its 3-1 win over FC Groningen by a message suggesting that captain and club leading scorer Burak Yilmaz is leaving with immediate effect. The Turkish striker thanked fans via social media for the “great time at the club.”

And meanwhile, the club knows of nothing. “It was also surprising for us,” technical director Sjoerd Ars told NOS Langs de Lijn. “We’ll probably hear more tomorrow.”

The 37-year-old Yilmaz is the big star of the team. His arrival was a stunt of note, but they still sometimes have trouble dealing with the whims of such a superstar in Limburg.

Yilmaz would take a lot to himself, as in the early dismissal of coach Sjors Ultee. He never allows himself to be substituted, thus potentially getting in the way of talent. And sportingly, it is not always easy either, even if the win over Groningen provided some relief for the number eleven of the premier league.

“I thought he was quite cheerful after the match, because we had taken an important step toward maintaining our position,” Ars tried to explain the Turk’s mood. “And it was a personal post from Burak. What exactly is behind that, I don’t know. Perhaps it was a mistranslation.”

The fact is that Yilmaz was whistled at by part of the crowd.

Watch the summary of Fortuna Sittard-FC Groningen here, perhaps Burak Yilmaz’s last game:

Yilmaz still has an ongoing contract in Sittard. He signed last summer for no less than five seasons, at least the first two of which he would still be active as a footballer.

“Legally this doesn’t just go either,” Ars said. “But I also don’t think it will come to that.”

Ars says he won’t sleep any worse, as his club did good business and with a little luck could even make the playoffs for European soccer. But Yilmaz, of course, is keeping spirits up.

“He can just communicate normally in English,” Ars knows. “But talking and writing something down, then you can word it slightly differently. And then it can be interpreted very differently at once.”