More than 1,000 footballers have been suspended in an ongoing investigation into a massive betting scandal involving alleged gambling on games
The Turkish Football Federation has banned more than 1,000 players – including 27 from its premier division – after a huge betting investigation that has uncovered numerous alleged wagers on fixtures.
In total, a staggering 1,024 footballers have been caught up in the ongoing probe into the gambling, with all those involved passed to the nation’s Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK). Reigning champions and table-toppers Galatasaray have had one of their squad – Eren Elmali – embroiled in the scandal.
Meanwhile Istanbul neighbours Besiktas have had two players sent to the PFDK – though they insist they have “full faith” in the pair’s innocence, who haven’t been publicly named. Elmali revealed on Instagram that he placed a wager on a match roughly five years ago that didn’t feature his own side. He signed for Galatasaray this year.
Due to the sheer volume of bans, fixtures in the third and fourth divisions of the nation’s football structure have been called off for the coming fortnight – only matches in the top two leagues will proceed as planned.
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) chief Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu sent shockwaves through Turkish football when he exposed the scandal on October 27, declaring they are facing a “moral crisis”, reports the Mirror.
“Our duty is to elevate Turkish football to its rightful place and to purge it of all its filth,” federation president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu declared at a press briefing a fortnight ago. The TFF have also requested FIFA to permit a 15-day extension for transfers and registrations in the winter transfer window.
This is so that clubs can fill the gaps in their squads created by the investigation – however, the world football’s governing body has yet to respond.
Local media reports that Turkish authorities have made eight arrests in connection with the investigation, including a club chairman. Turkish prosecutors have issued detention orders for 21 individuals – including 17 referees and two club presidents.
The investigation has been underway for the past five years, and has already resulted in 149 officials being banned. It is alleged that 371 out of 571 referees were found to have gambling accounts – 152 of which were active.
One referee was discovered to have placed 18,227 bets.
Three remaining officials are still under investigation and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has confirmed they could still face penalties.
Jose Mourinho, former manager of Fenerbahce, was a significant critic of the refereeing standard. While there is no evidence to suggest his team were victims of any betting scandal, he urged the media to voice their concerns about the situation.