Istanbul Prosecutors Target Players, Officials in Widening Probe Shaking Super Lig.

Turkey Betting Scandal

Istanbul prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 46 individuals, including 29 professional footballers, in a sweeping crackdown on illegal betting across Turkish matches, Sportblits.com reports.

Of the implicated players, 27 face accusations of wagering on games involving their own teams, and in some cases, matches they personally featured in, marking a severe breach of FIFA and UEFA integrity codes that ban such activity outright.

Police have detained 35 suspects so far, with five believed abroad and the rest in custody under Turkey’s sports disorder prevention law, which carries 1-3 year sentences, potentially harsher for betting ties or professional involvement.

High-Profile Names Emerge

Prosecutors spotlighted Fenerbahçe midfielder Mert Hakan Yandaş, who allegedly bet via a proxy account, and Galatasaray defender Metehan Baltacı, already hit with a nine-month TFF ban earlier this month for self-team wagers. The other 26 players remain unnamed, but reports indicate top-tier Super Lig involvement, including from rivals Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray.

Warrants also ensnared two club presidents for allegedly manipulating a 2023-24 third-division clash, a goalless anomaly that sparked the entire probe, per Turkish media. Additional arrests include Ankaraspor’s chair, Antalyaspor’s vice-chair, Adana Demirspor’s ex-chair, former referee/commentator Ahmet Çakar, and current whistler Zorbay Küçük.

A Scandal’s Spreading Web

This Friday escalation builds on a month-long crisis ignited by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF)‘s October audit of 571 referees: 371 held betting accounts, 152 placed wagers, prompting 149 suspensions (now dismissed) and 8-12 month bans for implicated officials, with three probes ongoing.

Early November saw 18 referees detained for match betting. By mid-month, six more joined Eyüpspor president Murat Özkaya in pre-trial lockup. The TFF has now suspended over 1,000 players nationwide, 25 from Super Lig, 77 from First League, 282 from Second, 629 from Third, and 9 amateurs, with penalties from 45 days to 12 months. Only one foreigner, Konyaspor’s Senegalese winger Alassane Ndao, drew a year-long ban.

Turkish Football’s Reckoning

TFF president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu vows a “milestone cleanup” from “scandal, decay, and corrupt relationships,” echoing FIFA/UEFA bans on gambling by insiders. The probe, spanning multiple fixtures and leagues, hints at “systemic issues,” per authorities, with financial flows and communications under scrutiny.

As Super Lig heavyweights like Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe reel, exacerbating referee bias rows, including the 2023 Ankaragücü assault on official Halil Umut Meler, Turkish football braces for fallout. With over 1,000 bans and counting, this scandal threatens to reshape the game’s foundations in the heart of Europe.