Turkish football scandal widens as 46 arrests are ordered in a major betting probe involving players, referees and club officials.
The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office said on Friday that it had ordered the arrest of 46 people, including 29 football players, as the Turkish football scandal over illegal betting widened into one of the country’s most significant sporting crises.
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According to the prosecutor’s office, 27 of the arrested players are suspected of betting on matches involving their own teams, including fixtures in which they were actively playing.
Police have detained 35 of the 46 individuals named in the arrest warrants, while five suspects are believed to have left the country.
The widening investigation follows earlier revelations in November, when prosecutors confirmed that 18 referees were in custody over alleged betting activities.
A week before that announcement, the Turkish Football Federation had suspended 149 referees after evidence emerged linking them to gambling on domestic fixtures.
The Turkish Football Federation said its disciplinary committee has now imposed bans ranging between eight and twelve months on several officials implicated in the scandal.
The federation added that inquiries remain ongoing regarding three more referees.
An internal review of 571 officials across Turkey’s professional leagues found that 371 had opened sports-betting accounts and 152 had placed wagers.
A standout name in the latest round of sanctions is Metehan Baltacı of champions Galatasaray, who had already received a nine-month suspension earlier in the month.
The scandal has rippled through Turkish football, exposing vulnerabilities in oversight and triggering public scrutiny of the sport’s integrity.
Prosecutors have not disclosed the identities of the remaining 26 players accused of placing bets on matches involving their own clubs.
However, they confirmed that Fenerbahçe midfielder Mert Hakan Yandaş allegedly used another person’s account to wager on games.
Two club presidents are also targeted by the arrest warrants.
They are accused of attempting to influence the result of a third-division match during the 2023 to 2024 season, after a fixture drew suspicion when neither side registered a single shot on goal.
That incident reportedly set off the broader investigation now gripping the domestic game.
To date, the federation has issued suspensions to more than 1,000 players nationwide.
Twenty-five of those sanctioned are from the top-flight Super Lig, while most of the others compete in the third and fourth tiers.
Only one foreign player, Konyaspor’s Senegalese winger Alassane Ndao, received a ban, handed a twelve-month suspension.
The investigation continues to gather pace, sending shockwaves through a football system already struggling with allegations of poor governance.
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Authorities have vowed to pursue all leads as they work to restore trust in Turkey’s most popular sport.
Peculiar Adirika is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
