Turkish prosecutors have ordered the detention of 21 people, including 17 referees and the chairman of an unnamed Super Lig club, as part of an investigation into alleged betting on football matches. According to state-owned Anadolu news agency, 18 of the 21 suspects have already been detained.
The move comes a week after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistant referees following an investigation that revealed officials in the country’s professional leagues were betting on football matches.
The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office stated that the detention of the 17 referees was due to abuse of duty and manipulation of match results. In addition, a Super Lig club president, a former club owner, and a former association president were ordered detained for alleged match-fixing. Another person was facing arrest for spreading misleading information on social media as part of the operation, which spanned 12 cities across Turkey.
In a separate disciplinary probe, the TFF has imposed bans of eight to 12 months on 149 officials involved in betting activities. TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu described the situation as a “moral crisis in Turkish football.” The TFF investigation found that 371 of 571 active referees in Turkey’s professional leagues had betting accounts, with 152 actively gambling.
The probe revealed extreme cases, including one referee placing 18,227 bets and 42 referees betting on more than 1,000 matches each. Some others were found to have bet only once.
The arrests and suspensions reflect a growing crackdown on gambling and match-fixing in Turkish football, highlighting the scale of the problem within the sport.
