Turkey Orders Arrest of 17 Referees and Club President in Major Football Betting Scandal

Ankara | November 6

Turkish prosecutors on Friday ordered the arrest of 17 football referees and a Super League club president as part of a sweeping investigation into illegal betting and match-fixing allegations.

According to the state-run Anadolu News Agency, 18 of the 21 suspects named in the investigation have already been detained.

The development comes just a week after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistant referees following an internal probe that revealed widespread involvement of match officials in football betting across the country’s professional leagues.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said that 17 referees were detained on charges of abuse of office and manipulating match outcomes, while a Super League club president, a former club owner, and a former association chairman were also taken into custody for their alleged roles in match-fixing activities.

Authorities said the arrests were part of a nationwide operation spanning 12 cities, which also led to the detention of another individual accused of spreading misleading information on social media related to the scandal.

In a separate disciplinary action, the TFF’s Disciplinary Board imposed eight- to twelve-month bans on the 149 match officials found to have engaged in betting activities.

TFF President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu described the situation as a “moral crisis in Turkish football.” The investigation revealed that out of 571 active referees in Turkey’s professional leagues, 371 had registered betting accounts, and 152 were actively gambling.

One referee reportedly placed over 18,000 bets, while 42 others wagered on more than 1,000 football matches. A few were found to have placed only a single bet, but all were included in the disciplinary proceedings.