In concrete terms, this concerns 1,024 players from the top four divisions in Turkey, all of whom were suspended. If you know that there are a total of 3,700 players active in Turkish professional football, then it really is a huge number…
Prosecutors in Turkey want to arrest 17 referees after huge gambling scandal: ‘Moral crisis’
The majority of these footballers are active at the third or fourth level, but 27 players from the Süper Lig are also involved in the scandal. Twenty-time international Eren Elmali and Metehan Baltaci of Galatasaray, and Ersin Destanoglu and (captain) Necip Uysan of Besiktas, among others, are mentioned in the investigation, although the latter denies this in all odors and colors.
Defamation of name
“I have never had anything to do with gambling in my life. I have never played or had a betting account,” he told Fanatic. „The idea never occurred to me. I will fight any legal battle against this smear on my name that I have worked tirelessly for years to keep clean. Besiktas fans and all sports fans should have no doubts about that.”
All 1,024 cases are now referred to the PFDK, the association’s disciplinary committee.
Arrests
In addition, another eight people have been arrested by the Turkish authorities. This concerns Eyupspor chairman Murat Özkaya and six referees for “influencing the outcome of the match”. A journalist was also arrested for “publicly spreading misleading information.”
The football association has already halted the competition at the second and third levels for two weeks due to the new developments. In addition, it has also asked FIFA for an exceptional transfer period of fifteen days so that the clubs involved can fill the gaps in their selections.
Gambling referee
At the end of October it became known that more than 150 referees were involved in the gambling scandal. One of the referees had gambled a total of 18,227 (!) times, and 42 referees clocked in more than 1000 games gambled.