17 Referees and Eyüpspor President Arrested in Turkish Betting Investigation
Turkish prosecutors have detained Eyüpspor president and long-time Galatasaray board member Murat Özkaya, along with 17 referees, in a large-scale investigation into suspected match-fixing and illegal betting. It is one of the biggest corruption scandals in Turkish football history.
Referees and Club Officials Among 21 Arrested
Turkish prosecutors have ordered the detention of 21 individuals, including 17 referees, Murat Özkaya, a former club owner and a former football association president. Eighteen of them have already been taken into custody, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.
The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said the referees are accused of abusing their duties and manipulating match outcomes, while Özkaya and other executives are suspected of involvement in match-fixing schemes.
The arrests follow an internal crackdown by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF). Last week, the federation suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after investigators discovered that many had been betting on football matches. The disciplinary board later issued bans ranging from eight to twelve months for those involved.
A “Moral Crisis” in Turkish Football
TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu described the situation as a “moral crisis in Turkish football,” highlighting the scale of misconduct uncovered. The federation’s probe revealed that 371 of the country’s 571 active referees had betting accounts, and 152 of them were actively gambling.
The data revealed shocking levels of activity. One referee placed 18,227 bets, while 42 others wagered on more than a thousand matches each. Some had bet only once, but the scale of the findings suggests deep-rooted ethical issues within Turkish officiating.
Prosecutors have also detained one person accused of spreading misleading information on social media about the ongoing investigation. Authorities are now assessing whether the betting activities directly influenced match results across different divisions.