Turkish prosecutors have ordered the arrest of 21 people, including 17 referees and the president of a Super League club, as part of a wide-ranging investigation into alleged soccer betting and match-fixing, state media reported on Friday.
According to the Istanbul General Prosecutor’s Office, 18 of the 21 suspects have already been detained in operations carried out in 12 cities. The suspects face charges ranging from abuse of office and match-fixing to spreading misleading information on social media. Among those detained are the president of a club from Turkey’s top division, a former club owner and a former association president.
The arrest marks an explosive escalation of the scandal that has rocked Turkish football in recent weeks. It comes just days after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistant referees for betting on football matches, a serious breach of national and international football regulations.
In its own investigation, the TFF’s disciplinary committee imposed bans of between eight and 12 months on 149 officials involved in betting, with a further three cases still under review. The full list of penalized officials was published on the official website of the federation.
The extent of betting activity revealed by TFF stunned football authorities and fans alike. A five-year investigation by the federation revealed that 371 out of 571 active Turkish referees had betting accounts and 152 of them actively gambled. While some referees were found to have placed only a few bets, 42 bet on more than 1,000 matches. In one extreme case, the referee closed a staggering 18,227 bets.
The finding sparked what TFF president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu called a “moral crisis” in Turkish football.
“There is a moral crisis in Turkish football. There is no such thing as structure. The fundamental problem at the core of Turkish football is ethical,” Haciosmanoglu told CNN Trk on Friday.
He rejected suggestions that referees resorted to betting due to financial distress.
“Ask any referee, if there is even one who has not been paid, I will resign as the president of the federation. In fact, we improved their salaries last year and again this year,” he said.
Under TFF, FIFA and UEFA regulations, referees, as well as players and coaches, are strictly prohibited from engaging in any form of football-related betting activity.
The betting scandal has cast a shadow over the credibility of Turkey’s domestic leagues and the country’s football administration, with authorities now vowing to take “all necessary legal and disciplinary measures” to restore the sport’s integrity.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
November 7, 2025
