The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office in Turkey announced Friday that 46 people, including 29 football players, had been arrested as part of a large-scale investigation into illicit betting on Turkish football matches.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, 27 of the arrested players are suspected of betting on matches involving their own teams in which they were playing.
In early November, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said that eighteen persons were being held in Turkey as part of an investigation into referees accused of betting on football matches.
A week earlier, the TFF punished 149 referees accused of betting on matches.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced that its disciplinary committee has imposed sanctions of eight to twelve months on many officials involved in the ongoing betting scandal.
According to the federation, investigations into three additional referees are still ongoing.
According to the TFF’s results, a survey of 571 referees working in Turkey’s professional leagues revealed that 371 had opened sports betting accounts and 152 had placed wagers.
Among those identified in the federation’s recent statement was Metehan Baltacı of reigning champions Galatasaray, who had previously received a nine-month ban earlier this month.
The controversy has caused shockwaves throughout Turkish football. On November 10, six referees were detained in pre-trial detention, along with the head of Eyüpspor, a top-tier Super Lig club.
Prosecutors did not reveal the identity of the other 26 players accused of betting on matches involving their own clubs, but they did clarify that Fenerbahçe midfielder Mert Hakan Yandaş allegedly placed bets using another person’s account.
According to authorities, 35 of the 46 people identified in the arrest warrants have been apprehended, with five suspects believed to be outside the country.
The warrants also target two club presidents accused of attempting to influence the outcome of a third-division match during the 2023-2024 season.
The encounter attracted suspicions because no team tried a single shot on goal, which Turkish media say prompted the larger probe.
To date, the TFF has suspended over 1,000 players nationally, including 25 from the Super Lig. The penalties range from a 45-day ban to a year’s punishment.
Only one foreign player, Konyaspor’s Senegalese winger Alassane Ndao, received a 12-month suspension.
The majority of those punished—more than 900—compete in the country’s third and fourth tiers.
