Turkish football is in a “moral crisis”, the president has said, with more than 1,000 players suspended over a gambling scandal and many officials potentially in trouble.
The Turkish Football Federation has suspended more than 1,000 players, including 27 from the top flight, following a major gambling investigation into which numerous bets were allegedly taken on matches.
The ongoing investigation implicates a whopping 1,024 football players in total, and all those involved have been referred to the country’s Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK).
Current champions and league leaders Galatasaray are said to have had one of their players, Eren Elmali, implicated, while Istanbul’s rivals Besiktas had two players sent to the PFDK, although the players’ names have not been revealed, although they claim to have “full faith” in their innocence.
About five years ago, Elmari posted on Instagram that he bet on a game that didn’t involve his team. He joined Galatasaray this year.
Following numerous interruptions, matches in the third and fourth tiers of the domestic football pyramid have been postponed for the next two weeks, with only matches in the top two tiers continuing to be held. Turkish Football Federation (TFF) president Ibrahim Hasiosmanoglu said the country was in the midst of a “moral crisis” after revelations about the scandal on October 27 shocked Turkish football.
read more: Referees are among those wanted by police over Turkey’s massive match-fixing scandalread more: Jose Mourinho pleads not guilty over scandal involving 152 referees
“Our duty is to elevate Turkish football to its rightful status and cleanse it of all filth,” federation resident official Ibrahim Hasiosmanoglu said at a press conference two weeks ago.
TFF has also asked FIFA to allow 15 days of transfer and registration extensions during the winter transfer window to allow clubs to fill the holes left in their squads as a result of the investigation, but world football’s governing body has yet to respond.
Local media reported that eight people, including the club president, were arrested by Turkish authorities in connection with the investigation. Turkish prosecutors issued detention orders for 21 people, including 17 referees and two club presidents.
The investigation has been ongoing for the past five years and 149 officials have already been banned. Of the 571 referees, 371 were found to have gambling accounts, of which 152 were active. It was revealed that one judge made 18,227 bets.
The remaining three officials are still under investigation and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) confirmed they could still face punishment.
Jose Mourinho previously criticized refereeing standards when he was Fenerbahce manager. Although there is no indication that his team is the victim of a gambling scandal, he called on the media to speak out against the situation.
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