A court in Istanbul sentenced on 4 June Fenerbahçe president Sadettin Saran and his brother, Kenan Saran, to two and a half years in prison for promoting illegal betting through advertisements broadcast improperly during football matches, according to the indictment filed by the State Prosecutor’s Office.
The final hearing of the trial, held at Istanbul’s 23rd Criminal Court of First Instance and involving four defendants, took place this Thursday, during which their lawyers rejected the charges and requested acquittal on all counts. Ultimately, however, the judge sentenced Fenerbahçe president Sadettin Saran and Alan Kenan Saran to two years and six months in prison.
The court also imposed a fine of 562,500 Turkish liras — 10,520 euros — on each of them for the proven offense of “inciting people to participate in betting on fixed-odds or pari-mutuel wagers, or in games of chance based on sports competitions, through advertising or other means.” In the same case, the CEO of the Saran Group, Azade Zeynep Haksal, and the general manager of S-Sport (the sports television network owned by the Saran business group), Emre Eren, were acquitted, reported the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.
The ads appeared on billboards and next to the stadium goals
The indictment drafted by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office noted that the Supreme Council of Radio and Television of Turkey (RTÜK) had been asked to investigate sports broadcasts in which ads related to illegal gambling appeared. According to the indictment, which cites the response sent by RTÜK to the prosecutor’s office, it was discovered in 2023 that the well-known internet broadcasting platform S-Sport, operated by the company Saran İnternet Televizyon Yayıncılık (Saran Internet Television Broadcasting), broadcast advertisements for unlicensed illegal betting during football matches.
These advertisements appeared both on the stadium perimeter fences and next to the two goals on the football field. The prosecution emphasized in its report that these advertisements reached a wide audience, highlighting the addictive nature of gambling and that it negatively affects people both economically and morally, in addition to the significant negative impact it has on society.
The prosecution also noted that the broadcast of advertisements for illegal gambling — whether physically or virtually placed on stadium billboards during broadcasts — constitutes a crime on the part of the broadcasting company, which is why charges were also brought against the top executives of the Saran Group and the S-Sport platform.
“There is sufficient suspicion that the CEO, the director of broadcasting, and the heads of the broadcasting company, along with the members of the board of directors authorized to represent the company and empowered to manage all matters and operations necessary for its administration, were aware of and approved the broadcast of matches containing illegal betting advertisements,” stated the indictment, which therefore held them jointly responsible for the broadcasts of illegal advertising.
Turkish football, rocked by scandals and allegations of match-fixing
The prosecution had therefore requested sentences of between one and three years in prison for Sadettin Saran and Alan Kenan Saran for “inciting people to participate in fixed-odds or pari-mutuel betting, or in games of chance based on sports competitions through advertising or other means.” For their part, Azade Zeynep Haksal and Emre Eren, who were ultimately not convicted by the court, were accused of committing the same offense repeatedly, for which the prosecution sought prison sentences ranging from one year and three months to five years and three months for each.
This conviction of the Fenerbahçe president also comes at a particularly sensitive time for Turkish football, which has been rocked by a massive investigation into betting and alleged match-fixing. Since October 2025, when the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) reported that hundreds of referees were involved in illegal sports betting, the subsequent investigation has led to the suspension of 149 referees and assistants, while more than 1,000 players were referred for disciplinary proceedings. Likewise, dozens of people, including Süper Lig club officials and professional football players, have been arrested or sent to prison.
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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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