The TFF, or Turkish Football Federation, has suspended 149 referees and assistant referees. This follows an investigation that found hundreds of professional match officials in the country had betting accounts.
Authorities have imposed bans of eight to 12 months on those involved in betting activities. The length of each ban depends on the severity of the individual’s actions. This is with investigations into three other officials still ongoing.
The TFF website published the full list of penalized officials.
A recent five-year probe revealed that 317 referees and 571 match officials hold betting accounts. Investigators found that 152 of them were actively gambling.
Forty-two officials had bet on more than 1,000 football matches, while some had placed only a single bet. Investigators found that one official had placed 18,227 bets.
TFF disciplinary regulations, like those of FIFA and UEFA, ban match officials from participating in betting activities. The rules apply to players and coaches as well.
Recently, Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu, president of TFF told CNN that 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 an ethical one.
He added that ask any referee, if there is even one who has not received his pay, he will resign as federation president. In fact, they improved their salaries last year, and again this year.
Authorities did not provide any further details on the cases or ongoing investigations.
After authorities announced the investigation’s findings on Monday, several of Turkey’s top clubs responded.
According to Besiktas, the move could mark a new beginning for clean football. Trabzonspor described the development as a historic opportunity to restore justice in Turkish football.
Sadettin Saran, president of Fenerbahce added that this is both shocking and deeply saddening for Turkish football. But the fact that it is coming to light is a hopeful development.
