Istanbul prosecutors issued arrest warrants on 7 November for 21 people, including 17 referees and the president of a club in Turkey’s top flight football league (Süper Lig), as part of an investigation into an illegal betting scandal in Turkish football.
The investigation, led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, focuses on allegations of sports betting involving several active referees. According to official sources, at least 19 suspects – 17 of them referees – were arrested in a series of early morning coordinated raids in Istanbul and 11 other provinces. Two others for whom arrest warrants have been issued are reportedly currently outside the country.
The 17 referees, identified only by their initials, are being investigated for alleged offences of ‘abuse of office’ and ‘altering the outcome of a match’. According to Turkish media, in this first phase of the investigation it was considered that, as public officials, participation in betting games constitutes behaviour contrary to their duties. Thus, and after analysing the allegations of manipulation and match-fixing under Turkey’s Law for the Prevention of Violence and Disorder in Sport, arrest warrants were issued for AKK, AT, BK, BT, BEA, CB, EA, MY, M.Ö., NO, NK, SET, Ş.B., UT, UK, YY and Y.Ş.
The chairman of Eyüpspor football club (currently second last in the first division), Murat Özkaya, and the former owner of Kasımpaşa, Fatih Saraç, are also being questioned after being arrested. Indeed, Kasımpaşa was already placed under judicial administration last September due to another investigation for alleged corruption against the Can Holding, the former owner of the club and several media outlets in Turkey.
2 out of 3 professional referees were involved in gambling
The scandal over illegal betting in Turkish football came to light after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistants last week, with sanctions ranging from eight to 12 months, because of their involvement in sports betting. So far, the TFF has not clarified whether any of these referees bet on matches they also officiated.
According to figures revealed by the federation itself, 371 of the 571 professional referees officially registered in Turkey had accounts with bookmakers, of whom 152 reportedly bet on football matches, which is expressly prohibited by law. Among them are 7 referees and 15 assistants of first-category, including one UEFA referee. The TFF revealed that 10 of the referees placed bets on more than 10,000 matches each in the last five years, with one referee alone betting on 18,227 matches.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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