Ali Şansalan

Ali Şansalan is a Turkish football referee born on March 17, 1988 in Kepsut, Balıkesir. Throughout his career, he has officiated 178 matches, showing 806 yellow cards and 17 red cards, with an average of 4.53 yellow cards per game. 

In the 2024/2025 season, Şansalan has refereed 14 matches in the Turkish Süper Lig. 

A notable anecdote in his career recently occurred when he was criticized by former referee Mustafa Çulcu for allegedly threatening player Michy Batshuayi during a match. Çulcu stated: "You can't threaten the player, you're the referee! This behavior is unacceptable". 

Regarding his refereeing style, Şansalan is known for being strict in the enforcement of the rules, as reflected in his average cards per game. However, incidents like the one mentioned above have sparked controversy about his handling of situations with players on the field.