PFDK Hands Out Mass Suspensions to Turkish Referees Over Betting
Turkey’s Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) issued a sweeping set of sanctions on 31 October 2025, suspending scores of match officials for betting-related offenses under Article 57 of the Disciplinary Code. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) later said 152 referees were actively gambling, including seven from the Süper Lig pool, in what officials called an unprecedented integrity breach.
What the PFDK decided on October 31
The PFDK’s meeting No. 22 confirmed dozens of suspensions ranging from 8 to 12 months for referees and assistant referees who engaged in betting activity, with the “intensity of the act” cited when setting penalty length.
- 12-month suspensions
Upper Division Assistant Referee (Üst Klasman Yardımcı) – Göktuğ Hazar Erel, Şenol Bektaş, Serdar Soydan
Classification Judge( Üst Klasman) – Abdülselam Koçak, Alirıza Altunbakır, Ceyhun Elmas, Miraç Yıldırım, Muammer Sarıdağ
Assistant Referees (Klasman Yardımcı) – Arif Taşkın, Aykut Yılmaz, Emre Kaya, Erkan Arslan, Fatih Tizci, Furkan Çıraklar, Hakan Tunç, Mehmet Ali Yılmaz, Metin Yalçın, Muhammet Cafer Algül, Mustafa Özel, Necmi Akıncı, Onur Han, Ömer İnci, Ömer Faruk Topcu, Recep Tayyip Keleş, Sabri Emre Tekin, Sadık Eren Ulusoy, Selçuk Gökgöz, Taha Berke El, Ufuk Tatlıcan, Ufuk Çelebi, Umut Kaptan, Yakup Yapıcı, Yasin Şen
- 10-month suspensions
Upper Division Assistant Referee (Üst Klasman Yardımcı)- Azem Zorlu, Eyup Özer, Faruk Yağlı, Rıdvan Çevik, Rüştü Muhammed Orcan
Upper Division Referee (Üst Klasman) – Egemen Artun, Yunus Dursun
Classification Judge (Klasman) – Abdullah Murat Yoldaş, Ali Bilen, Ali Emir Yolcu, Berkan Çetin, Burak Doğru, Hikmet Ayberk Han Tiryaki, Mehmet Can Koç, Mertcan Erölmez, Nevzat Okat, Nurullah Kırbaş
Division Assistant Referee (Klasman Yardımcı) – Adem Mazlum, Ahmet Emre Demirci, Ahmet Kıvanç Kader, Atakan Yüzlü, Baran Karaman, Batuhan Topçu, Berk Tezcan, Cem Harman, Cihan Ahmet Göre, Cihat Sevi, Fatih Yüzbaşı, Furkan Genç, Hakan Şahin, İbrahim Alaka, İbrahim Zengin, Merdani Mert Gölgeçen, Mert Öztürk, Mert Şahin, Mertcan Tezcan, Mustafa Sert, Nurullah Bayram, Oğuzhan Anıl, Okan Taşköprü, Onur Tomak, Ömer Mutlu, Ömer Faruk Büyükeken, Süleyman Oral, Turhan Beyke
- 8-month suspensions
Upper Division Assistant Referee (Üst Klasman Yardımcı) – Ahmet Türkeş, Baykal Tuna, Hasan Erdoğan
Top Category Referees (Üst Klasman) – Mehmet Ali Özer, Seyfettin Alper Yılmaz
Classification Judge (Klasman) – Abdulsamet Şenoğlu, Bedirhan Efeakdoğan, Berat Osmancıklı, Göktan Demeli, Hakan Yurtseven, Halim Kolancı, Mehmet Alperen Güçyetmez, Muhammed Burak Tufan, Muhammed Mehmetcan Söylemez, Muhammed Seyda Demirel, Ömer Şivka, Sait Tuzcu, Süleyman Soyutürk, Tayfun Güz, Yunus Emre Çiftçi
Category Assistant Referees (Klasman Yardımcı) – Abdullah Yalçınkaya, Ahmet Tolga Tomar, Ali Mert Beyde, Atahan Kandır, Baran Can Durmuş, Buğra Doğan, Burak Yanardağ, Coşkun Yalçın, Çağrı Ateş, Eray Görgün, Erdoğan Sertan Akman, Eren Öksüzler, Eren Gökmen, Furkan Yıldız, Furkan Kocayıldız, Hakan Erkan, Hakan Can Yılmaz, Hüseyin Sağlık, İbrahim Bayram, İlyas Samet Yelen, Kerem Yıldız, Mehmet Akıncık, Melih Eser (by majority vote), Melih Sayın, Mert Baykal, Muhammet Mahmut Delimazı, Mustafa Boylu, Mustafa Başol Sorgunlu, Mustafa Soner Yüce, Nuri Miski, Ogün Keleş, Onur Akıncı, Osman Arslan, Osman Can Açıklar (by majority vote), Önder Demir, Selami Dursun, Semih Kurtuluş, Tolga Düyüncü, Ufuk Osman Solmaz, Ulaş Kaçmaz, Umut Yalçınkaya, Umut İkisivri, Yasin Emre Ceylan
- Under investigation (case pending)
Zorbay Küçük (Top Category Referee), Mertcan Tubay (Category Referee) – Melih Kurt (Category Assistant Referee)
Scale of the Problem, Per the TFF
At a subsequent briefing, TFF president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said internal audits conducted with regulators and licensed operators found widespread account ownership among match officials, with 371 of 571 active referees registered on betting platforms and 152 actively gambling. He said.
“Out of 571 referees, 371 hold betting accounts, and 152 are actively gambling. We are determined to clean our football from any shadow of corruption. There will be no exceptions.”
Integrity, Transparency, and Next Steps
The federation confirmed seven elite referees tied to Süper Lig assignments were flagged and face discipline. Sanctions may escalate to longer suspensions, deregistration, lifetime bans, or criminal referrals where applicable. FIFA and UEFA rules strictly prohibit match officials from gambling or holding betting accounts.
The integrity push comes amid an already tense season marked by criticism of referee appointments and VAR oversight. The TFF says it has not yet published names for all implicated officials nor a final disciplinary timeline, but pledged “decisive steps” and continued cooperation with FIFA/UEFA and law enforcement. Independent oversight, tighter data-sharing, and enhanced monitoring of officials’ financial footprints are among measures under consideration.
Article 57 of the Turkish Disciplinary Code covers betting, match manipulation, and related behaviors undermining sporting integrity. The PFDK’s 31.10.2025 rulings repeatedly cite Article 57 and explicitly weigh act intensity in determining sanction length – hence the wide band from 8 to 12 months across cases.