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Turkey Launches Major Arrests in Expanding Football Betting Investigation

Posted : 07 November 2025

Turkish authorities have ordered the arrest of 21 individuals — including 17 referees and the chairman of a top-flight football club — over allegations of illegal betting and match manipulation, prosecutors announced on Friday.

 

According to reports from the state-run Anadolu Agency, 18 of the suspects have already been taken into custody as part of a sweeping nationwide operation.

 

The arrests come just a week after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistant referees following an internal probe that uncovered widespread betting activity among match officials in the country’s professional leagues.

 

The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office said the detained referees are being investigated for abuse of office and influencing match outcomes. Also implicated in the investigation are a current Super Lig club president, a former club owner, and a former association head — all suspected of involvement in match-fixing.

 

Authorities added that another suspect is being pursued for spreading false information on social media related to the scandal, which has now spread across 12 Turkish cities.

 

In a parallel disciplinary process, the TFF’s Ethics and Disciplinary Board has imposed eight- to twelve-month bans on 149 officials linked to betting-related offenses.

 

TFF President Ibrahim Hacıosmanoğlu described the revelations as a “moral crisis in Turkish football,” revealing that 371 of Turkey’s 571 active referees were found to hold betting accounts, with 152 confirmed to have placed wagers.

 

Investigators further discovered that one referee placed over 18,000 bets, while 42 others wagered on more than 1,000 matches each. Some were found to have participated in betting only once, according to the report.

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