149 Turkish officials suspended in betting probe

After discovering that hundreds of professional match officials in Turkey had betting accounts, an investigation revealed that the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) had suspended 149 referees and assistant referees.

According to the “severity of the act,” there have been bans on involvement in betting activity of eight to twelve months, with investigations into three additional officials still ongoing.

On the TFF website, a full list of the officials who had been disciplined was made available.

A five-year investigation revealed on Monday that 371 of 571 match officials had betting accounts, with 152 of those having actual gambling.

42 had wagers on more than 1, 000 football games, with one official reporting that they had placed 18 227 bets, compared to some who had only once.

Match officials are prohibited from engaging in gambling activities in the same way as players and coaches by the TFF’s disciplinary rules, as well as those of the world’s governing body Fifa and the European governing body Uefa.

Turkish football is in a moral crisis, according to the statement. There is no structure at all. The fundamental issue with Turkish football is one of ethics, according to TFF president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu, who spoke to CNN on Friday.

Ask any referee, and I’ll step down as president of the federation if even one has not received his pay. In fact, both last year and this year, their salaries improved.

A number of Turkey’s top clubs responded on Monday after the investigation’s findings were made public.

The development, according to Besiktas, “could represent a new beginning for clean football,” while Trabzonspor referred to it as “an historic opportunity to rebuild justice in Turkish football.”

Sadettin Saran, president of Fenerbahce, stated: “This is both shocking and deeply depressing for Turkish football.