ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish soccer on Thursday temporarily suspended 102 players from top-tier clubs over a growing gambling scandal.
The Turkish Football Federation suspended 25 Super Lig players and 77 players from the second division and first division for one year starting on the 45th.
Galatasaray’s Turkish defender Eren Elmali has been suspended for 45 days. His club teammate and Turkey Under-21 centre-back Metehan Baltac has been suspended for nine months.
Elmari Post to Instagram This week he bet on a game from about five years ago that didn’t involve his team. He joined Galatasaray this year.
More than 1,000 players have been referred to the federation’s Professional Football Disciplinary Committee in an ongoing investigation.
The federation shut down the third and fourth divisions for two weeks, but allowed the Super Lig, led by defending champions Galatasaray, and the second division to continue.
Federation president Ibrahim Hasiosmanoglu vowed this week to cleanse Turkish football of corruption, scandal and unethical behavior.
“We took office 16 months ago with a promise to take Turkish football to the level it deserves,” he said. “We will not compromise in our fight to protect Turkish football from scandals, decline and corrupt relationships.”
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