The turmoil in Turkey’s Super League has reached a new dramatic level. A court in Istanbul has ordered the preventive detention of Murat Ozkaya, president of Eyüpspor, along with seven referees accused of “influencing match results.”
But that’s not all – the Turkish Football Federation has also referred 1,204 football players to the disciplinary committee for suspected sports betting activities.
This measure is considered “preventive” by the Federation. Among the more than 1,000 players referred, 27 currently play in the Super League, including two from Galatasaray, two from Beşiktaş, and one from Trabzonspor, while 77 others are active in the Second Division.
List of some players under investigation:
Beşiktaş: Ersin Destanoğlu, Necip Uysal
Alanyaspor: İzzet Çelik, Enes Keskin, Yusuf Ozdemir, Bedirhan Ozyurt
Rizespor: Efe Dogan, Furkan Orak
Galatasaray: Metehan Baltacı, Evren Eren Elmalı
Gaziantep FK: Muhammet Taha Güneş, Nazim Sangare
Göztepe FK: İzzet Furkan Malak, Uğur Kaan Yıldız
Antalyaspor: Kerem Kayaarası
Eyüpspor: Mükremin Arda Turkoz
Kasımpaşa: Ege Albayrak, Ali Emre Yanar
Fatih Karagümrük: Furkan Bekleviç, Kerem Yusuf Sirkeci
Samsunspor: Celil Yuksel
Trabzonspor: Boran Baskan, Salih Malkoçoğlu
This latest scandal is linked to recent discussions surrounding suspicious betting activity in Turkish professional football. As a result, 149 referees have been sanctioned, and over 40 match delegates have been forced to resign.
