-45 points, goal difference of -109
Mario Balotelli’s former club is descending into chaos
March 4, 2026 – 5:03 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
A few years ago they were still playing in the European Cup, but Adana Demirspor has now degenerated into a scandalous club.
The traditional Turkish club Adana Demirspor is experiencing an unprecedented crash. After numerous sanctions, Mario Balotelli’s former club is at the bottom of the table in the Turkish second division and has a record-breaking points account of -45.
In February alone, the Turkish association TFF imposed several point deductions for violations of the statutes. Initially twelve points were deducted from the club, later another six.
The sporting balance is also corresponding. After 28 games there are only three draws, otherwise only defeats. In addition, there is a disastrous goal difference of minus 109. The team has only scored 16 goals so far, while they have already conceded 125 goals. Due to the sanctions in recent years, the team consists almost entirely of young players.
The club once had great ambitions. After 26 years of absence, the team returned to the Süper Lig in 2021. At the same time, a transfer offensive began that attracted a lot of attention. Among others, former Schalke players Benjamin Stambouli and Younes Belhanda moved to Adana. Balotelli also joined the club from the city with a population of around 1.7 million.
At the time, President Murat Sancak was confident about his future at the club. He said: “Maybe some will be sad now, but I will remain president until I die.”
But at the end of December 2025, his time at Adana Demirspor ended abruptly. As part of an investigation into illegal betting and money laundering, Sancak was targeted by the authorities and was arrested. The businessman was released at the end of January, but has been under house arrest since then.
Meanwhile, his former club is struggling with the consequences of the past few years. There were initially some successes in sport: in the second year after promotion, coach Vincenzo Montella led the team to fourth place in the table and thus into the European Cup.
