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Read Full BioThe Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has suspended 149 referees and assistant referees for placing bets on soccer matches.
Last week, the TFF revealed that 371 of 571 active referees have betting accounts, and of those, 152 have been actively betting on soccer matches.
On Friday, 149 of those have now been suspended, with three remaining under investigation. The disciplinary action includes:
- 62 officials suspended for 8 months
- 48 suspended for 10 months
- 39 suspended for 12 months
- 3 still under investigation
One official was found to have placed over 18,000 illegal bets; although his identity has not been disclosed, his punishment is limited to a 12-month suspension. The referees have all been named in a press release on the TFF’s website.
Super Lig Referees Under Investigation
Among those implicated in the scandal are 7 top-class referees: Zorbay Küçük, Egemen Artun, Mehmet Ali Özer, Melih Kurt, Muhammet Selim Özbek, Seyfettin Alper Yılmaz, and Yunus Dursun.
Two of the Super Lig referees, Kurt and Küçük, remain under investigation. Küçük is the only referee on the list to have officiated a Super Lig match this season.
He has taken charge of a total of five matches, including Trabzonspor against Eyüpspor on October 25. He is also licensed to officiate FIFA and UEFA matches. As the investigation continues, he has been removed from the upcoming UEFA Champions League matches for which he was scheduled to officiate.
The referee denies that he has ever opened a betting account or placed any bets. The 33-year-old appeared on Thursday at Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse with his lawyer, Alp Osman Karaosmanoğlu, to formally deny any wrongdoing.
“I have never opened an account on any betting site and have never placed a bet – not on football or any sport,” Küçük said outside the courthouse. “I came here voluntarily to defend my name.”
His lawyer said the complaint centers on two fraudulent betting accounts allegedly created using Küçük’s stolen personal data. “Our investigations show these were opened abroad without his knowledge,” his lawyer said. “This is a clear case of identity theft, and we will pursue those responsible.”
Turkish journalist Ersin Düzen posted on X that the bets placed were on Argentinian soccer with no relation to the matches Küçük was officiating.
Moral Crisis in Turkish Football
TFF president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu has vowed to clean up Turkish soccer. He commented on Friday, “There is a moral crisis in Turkish football. There is no such thing as structure. The fundamental problem at the core of Turkish football is an ethical one.”
The President of Super Lig club Fenerbahçe, Sadettin Saran, described the revelations that officials have been betting as “shocking,” but he remained hopeful that corruption would be exposed. The club has previously been outspoken about corruption in Turkish soccer.
Former manager Jose Mourinho described the Turkish Süper Lig as “too grey, too dark, it smells bad.” He criticized the standard of refereeing and said that “we play against the system.”
Saran added, “This is proof we were right all along. If titles were tainted, the truth must prevail.” Fenerbahce was previously investigated over allegations of match-fixing in the 2010-11 season. Former President Aziz Yıldırım was sentenced to more than six years in prison over the scandal, but was acquitted on appeal. The club was also not stripped of the 2011 title.
Fellow Super Lig club Besiktas has demanded more details be shared, stating, “We demand names, matches, and wager types be revealed without delay. This is a milestone for justice and clean football.”
Aside from the information shared in relation to Küçük, there have been no details about the matches on which the suspended referees were betting.
