November 10 – The Turkish prosecutor’s office has ordered the detention of 21 individuals, including 17 football referees and a Super Lig club president, on charges of involvement in illegal betting and match-fixing.
According to a statement by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office, the detained referees are accused of abusing their official positions and intentionally influencing the outcome of matches. Among the other suspects are a former club owner and a former sports association chairman, while an arrest warrant has been issued for another individual for spreading misleading information on social media.
The arrests were conducted in 12 Turkish cities.
The action comes a week after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced it had suspended 149 referees and assistant referees for their involvement in betting. The federation’s internal investigation revealed that 371 of the country’s 571 active referees in professional leagues have online betting accounts, with 152 actively participating in gambling.
Particularly shocking is the case of one referee who made 18,227 bets, as well as 42 referees who bet on more than 1,000 football matches each. Some referees only placed single bets but were nevertheless included in disciplinary proceedings.
In its separate investigation, the TFF’s disciplinary board imposed penalties ranging from 8 to 12 months on 149 officials involved in betting activities.
The Turkish football federation’s president, Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu, described the incident as a “moral collapse in Turkish football,” emphasising that trust in refereeing in Turkey has been seriously shaken.
The investigation continues, and authorities do not rule out further arrests and expansion of operations to other clubs and referees suspected of being involved in manipulated betting.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1771517532labto1771517532ofdlr1771517532owedi1771517532sni@o1771517532fni1771517532