The reaction is commensurate with the seriousness of the facts. The Disciplinary Board of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) on Friday suspended 149 referees accused of having bet on matches in defiance of the ban imposed on them.
The suspensions range from eight to twelve months, detailed the TFF, specifying in its press release that investigations are continuing concerning three other referees also incriminated.
A survey by the federation of 571 referees in Turkish professional leagues revealed on Monday that 371 of them have sports betting accounts and 152 actively bet.
22 first division referees
“Arbitration is a profession of honor. Anyone who tarnishes this honor (…) will never participate in Turkish football again,” Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu, the boss of the TFF, assured Thursday, whose revelations had the effect of a bombshell in Turkey.
Twenty-two of the referees in question (7 central referees and 15 assistant referees) officiate in the first division, according to the federation.
Ten of the referees listed by the TFF have placed more than 10,000 bets, with one of them betting 18,227 times. 42 referees each bet on more than 1,000 football matches, detailed the boss of Turkish football.
He did not specify, however, whether some were suspected of having bet on matches they managed. An investigation was also opened by the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office.
