Source, Katsumi Murouchi/Getty Images
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- Written by, BBC News Turkish
- Title, London
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Reading time: 2 min
A match-fixing indictment was prepared for the match between Ankaraspor and Nazilli Belediyespor in April 2024, which ended in a draw without both teams taking a shot. There are 52 suspects in the investigation, five of whom are detained.
As a result of the draw between the two teams, Ankaraspor was guaranteed to qualify for the play-offs to be promoted to the upper league, while Nazilli Belediyespor finished the league ahead of Zonguldak Kömürspor and avoided relegation to the lower league with a one-point difference.
Thereupon, Zonguldak Kömürspor filed a complaint with the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).
This complaint was included in the football betting investigation launched last year, and many people were detained in December.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office completed the indictment regarding the match on January 19 and requested that the two suspects be sentenced to between 1.5 and 4.5 years, and the other suspects to be punished between 1 and 3 years.
Reports received from the betting industry within the scope of the investigation revealed that unusual amounts of bets were placed on the possibility that this match would end in a draw, and 69% of the betting companies removed this match from their betting programs.
It was also claimed that significantly large amounts of activity were observed in the betting accounts of many people within the scope of the investigation.
The suspects denied the accusations made against them.
‘Don’t say you tied the match’ message is in the indictment
Nazilli Belediyespor Club President Şahin Kaya answered “I don’t know” when asked why Hasan Güney, one of the former presidents of the club, sent him the message “Don’t say such things, uncle, saying ‘You were talking about me everywhere, I tied the match, I called'”.
Ahmet Okatan, the owner of Ankaraspor, said that he learned the result of the match later and that he was interested in the economic and administrative affairs of the club, not the sports part.
Nazillispor’s coach, Gürhan Sönmez, stated that he was on duty for one match after the club’s coach resigned before the match, and said, “As a result of the match ending in a draw, we would have been relegated. Our opponent, Ankaraspor, would also have gone to the play-offs. We did not take risks in the match to stabilize our situation, we played defensively. I have nothing to do with the accusation made against me.”
Ankaraspor President Memet Emin Katipoğlu also said that they did not suggest that the match would end in a draw. “When we look at the points rankings, although it may seem that our team is strong enough to beat Nazilli Belediyespor in the first place, football is ultimately a game played with three possibilities,” he said and added:
“Weak teams beat strong teams from time to time. The priority here is not to be defeated.
“When we look at the matches played in the world and in our country from time to time, it is obvious that many matches are inefficient. Just because no shots are taken in this match does not mean that it affects the outcome of the match.
“In fact, a member of parliament from Zonguldak province brought this incident to the agenda.”
TFF President Hacıosmanoğlu pointed out this match
Turkish Football Federation President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said that last year’s betting investigation started with this match.
Participating in a television broadcast, Hacıosmanoğlu said, “When we were elected, we found this file in our arms. I wanted it to be processed immediately and whatever was necessary was done.”
“As a result, we learned that players, employees and managers from both sides bet on this match. They were also given maximum penalties. When this happened, I said to our deputy president in charge of law, ‘Let’s start this in the real sense.’
“We started with the referees by consulting with the institutions of our state. We were expecting 10-15 referees, but when these numbers came out, I was saddened. We will do what is necessary. Now the football players are next. The information of approximately 3,700 athletes is in the TFF.”
