Turkish Authorities Arrest 17 Referees and Club Chairman in Expanding Football Betting Scandal
Turkish prosecutors have ordered the arrest of 21 individuals including 17 referees and the chairman of a top-flight club as part of a deepening investigation into alleged betting and match-fixing in the country’s football leagues.
According to state news agency Anadolu, 18 of the suspects have already been detained. The probe marks a major escalation in what authorities have described as one of the biggest integrity crises in Turkish football history.
The arrests follow the Turkish Football Federation’s (TFF) recent decision to suspend 149 referees and assistant referees after uncovering widespread betting activity among officials working in professional leagues.
The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office said the 17 referees were detained on charges of abusing their positions and manipulating match results. Among those also targeted are a Super Lig club president, a former club owner, and a former association president, all suspected of involvement in match-fixing. Another suspect was detained for spreading false information on social media linked to the scandal, as part of coordinated operations across 12 cities.
In a parallel investigation, the TFF’s disciplinary board has imposed bans ranging from eight to twelve months on 149 referees found to be involved in betting. TFF President Ibrahim Hacıosmanoğlu described the affair as a “moral crisis in Turkish football,” vowing to restore integrity to the domestic game.
The federation’s internal probe revealed that 371 of Turkey’s 571 active referees held betting accounts, with 152 actively gambling on matches. One referee had placed more than 18,000 bets, while 42 others wagered on over 1,000 football games each.
The scandal has rocked Turkish football, already under scrutiny for governance issues and fan violence, and raises serious questions about the credibility of officiating and competition integrity within the country’s professional leagues.
