Turkish Justice Orders Arrest of 46 Individuals in Football Match-Fixing Probe
The Turkish justice system has ordered the arrest of 46 individuals, including 29 football players from the first and second divisions, as part of a large-scale investigation into betting on football matches, the Istanbul prosecutor's office announced on Friday.
Key Findings
- 27 of these players are suspected by the justice system of having bet on matches involving their own teams, according to the prosecutor's office.
- Metehan Baltaci, a player for Galatasaray, the triple Turkish champion team, is among those suspected, the prosecutor's office indicated, without revealing the identities of the other 26 incriminated players at this stage.
- Mert Hakan Yandas, a player for Fenerbahçe, another major Istanbul club, is suspected of having bet on various matches through a third party.
Arrests and Investigations
- The justice system, which has so far arrested 35 of the 46 wanted individuals, has also ordered the arrest of the presidents of two clubs suspected of having "tried to influence the result" of a match between them in the third division during the 2023-2024 season.
- This match had attracted the attention of the justice system and triggered the ongoing investigation, according to several Turkish media outlets, as neither team had taken a shot during the 90 minutes of play.
- Six other individuals, including a player, are also suspected of having made an agreement to influence the result of a second-division match between Mraniyespor and Giresunspor in December 2023.
- A first-division referee, a former president of the Adana Demirspor club (2nd division), as well as a famous sports commentator and his wife, are also to be questioned in police custody to explain "suspicious financial transactions".
Impact on Turkish Football
- The investigation by the Istanbul prosecutor's office, which is shaking the Turkish football world, has already led to the incarceration of six referees and the president of Eyüpspor, a first-division club, in early November.
- The Turkish Football Federation (TFF), which wants to "clean up" Turkish football, had suspended nearly 150 referees found guilty of betting on matches a few days earlier. All have since been dismissed.
- Twenty-five first-division players and nearly 1,000 others playing in the second, third, and fourth divisions, also found guilty of betting, received suspensions of up to 12 months in November.
