18 held in expanding Turkish football referees betting scandal

Turkish authorities have detained 18 people, including several referees, in a widening probe into an alleged football betting and match-fixing scandal, prosecutors in Istanbul confirmed on Friday.

The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office said 21 arrest warrants were issued — among them 17 referees and the president of a top-flight club — on suspicions of match fixing and abuse of power. Coordinated raids were carried out across Istanbul and 11 other provinces, with 18 suspects taken in for questioning.

Among those detained are Murat Ozkaya, president of Turkish Super Lig club Eyupspor, and Fatih Sarac, the former owner of Kasımpaşa, according to reports in Cumhuriyet and other Turkish media. Kasımpaşa, notably, was placed under trusteeship in September following a separate corruption investigation into its previous holding company.

The scandal erupted after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistant referees last week for allegedly betting on matches — a direct violation of the federation’s code of conduct. The suspensions range from eight to 12 months, though the TFF did not specify whether any of those officials had wagered on games they personally officiated.

TFF president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu revealed that a government agency had discovered 371 of 571 active referees held accounts with betting companies, and 152 referees had placed wagers on football matches. Among them were seven top-tier referees and 15 assistant referees.

In one shocking revelation, a referee allegedly placed bets on more than 18,000 matches, while ten others reportedly wagered on over 10,000 games each across a five-year span.

The investigation has sent shockwaves through Turkish football, with growing fears that the scandal could undermine public confidence in match integrity and the country’s officiating system.

SportsLigue