Last Updated:
TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu has described the situation as a “moral crisis in Turkish football.”
Turkish Football Federation president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu speaks during a news conference. (AP Photo)
Turkish authorities arrested eight individuals, including a prominent club chairman, on Monday in connection with an investigation into alleged betting on football matches. Simultaneously, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 1,024 players pending disciplinary probes.
This move follows the TFF’s earlier decision this month to suspend 149 referees and assistant referees after uncovering that officials in the country’s professional leagues were involved in betting on football matches.
The state-owned Anadolu news agency reported that a court ordered the arrest of Eyupspor Chairman Murat Ozkaya and seven others as part of the investigation. Eyupspor has yet to comment on the matter.
In a statement, the TFF revealed that it had referred 1,024 players from all leagues to the Professional Football Disciplinary Council (PFDK) as part of the probe, including 27 players from the top-tier Super Lig, all of whom have been suspended. Among these players are members of champions Galatasaray and Istanbul rivals Besiktas.
To address the situation, the TFF announced, “Due to the precautionary transfer of 1,024 football players to the PFDK, urgent negotiations have been initiated with FIFA to grant a 15-day transfer and registration period in addition to the 2025-2026 winter transfer period, solely at the national level, to allow clubs to address their squad deficiencies.”
The TFF also declared a two-week suspension of matches in the second and third-tier leagues. Local media reported that the TFF board would hold an extraordinary meeting at 1400 GMT on Tuesday.
FIFA, football’s global governing body, has yet to respond to a Reuters request for comment on the investigation and the TFF’s request for a 15-day transfer window.
TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu described the situation as a “moral crisis in Turkish football.” The investigation uncovered that 371 of the 571 active referees in Turkey’s professional leagues had betting accounts, with 152 actively gambling. Notably, one referee had placed 18,227 bets, and 42 referees had bet on more than 1,000 football matches each, while others were found to have bet only once.
With Reuters Inputs
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital…Read More
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital… Read More
November 11, 2025, 08:17 IST
Read More
Source link
[ad_3]
