The national football association of Türkiye (TFF) has suspended 149 referees for illegal sports betting. According to the association, the bans imposed by the disciplinary committee last between eight and twelve months. The association said three people are still being investigated.
“Being a referee is an honorable profession,” said TFF President Ibrahim Hacıosmanoğlu. “Anyone who tarnishes this honor will never be part of Turkish football again.”
The TFF accuses the referees of placing bets, but left it open whether those now punished had also placed bets on games that they themselves refereed.
A comprehensive investigation into a total of 571 referees revealed that 371 of them had betting accounts and 152 had actively used them. 22 referees, seven main referees and 15 assistants, work in the Süper Lig, the highest Turkish league.
A total of ten referees are said to have placed more than 10,000 bets each, 42 of them bet on more than 1,000 games. In parallel to the association’s actions, the public prosecutor’s office in Istanbul has begun its own investigations.
TFF wants to “free football from any trace of corruption”
One of the accused referees is said to have placed 18,227 bets alone. According to the investigation, most of the matches that were bet on were games in foreign leagues.
“If we want to bring Turkish football to where it belongs, we have to remove all dirt,” said Hacıosmanoğlu. “We are determined to rid football of any trace of corruption.”
The revelations are “shocking” and “deeply saddening,” said Sadettin Saran, president of Fenerbahçe Istanbul. “But the fact that this is coming to light is a hopeful development.” Istanbul club Beşiktaş said the results of the investigation could “mean a new beginning for clean football.”
