Hüseyin Göçek

Hüseyin Göçek — Biography

Hüseyin Göçek was born on 30 November 1976 in Istanbul. Tall from an early age, he split his school years between football at Leventspor and Beşiktaş and basketball at Galatasaray's junior level, then Ülkerspor, Kurtuluşspor and Tekelspor. While studying civil engineering at Yıldız Technical University, he took up refereeing in 1996 via a two-week course at his family's urging.

Around 1999-2000 he studied English in England's Sussex region and refereed about fifty regional matches there. Back in Turkey he made his Süper Lig debut in a Kayserispor-MKE Ankaragücü match and earned his FIFA badge in 2008. He served UEFA as fourth official and assistant referee in Euro 2012 qualifying, then took charge of the 2014 Galatasaray-Eskişehirspor Turkish Cup final -- his first -- before becoming one of nine referees to sign the federation's first pro contracts.

He officiated at 2014 World Cup qualifiers, plus UEFA assignments in 2016, 2019 and 2025. His 2012 Serbia-England under-21 play-off drew international coverage after racist abuse of England's players. Reports said he went unassigned for a stretch in November 2018 after the Clubs' Union objected to him; in a January 2025 interview he admitted missing a penalty call in an old Fenerbahçe match while denying a claim from Sergen Yalçın. He relocated to England in 2026 after his Turkish career ended and has kept officiating there.