ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish Football Federation has suspended 149 referees and assistant referees for their alleged involvement in a betting scandal involving professional soccer leagues.
The federation said Friday it had decided to impose sanctions of between eight to 12 months against the 149 officials, while investigations were continuing against another three.
“The reputation of Turkish soccer is built on the sanctity of the effort on the field and the unwavering integrity of justice. Any act that betrays these values is not merely a violation of the rules, but a breach of trust,” federation president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu said in a statement.
“Recent investigations have revealed that some referees were involved in betting activities in a manner completely incompatible with the spirit of football. This is not merely a violation – it is an abuse that wounds consciences and poisons justice.”
Hacıosmanoğlu had announced on Monday that government agencies determined that 371 of 571 active referees had at least one account with a betting company. He said 152 refs with accounts placed bets on soccer, including seven top-level refs and 15 top-level assistants.
Hacıosmanoğlu said that 10 referees placed bets on more than 10,000 matches each over five years while some only placed one bet. One referee allegedly placed bets on 18,227 games.
Citing judicial sources, broadcaster Habertürk said that investigations were also underway against clubs and players. It reported that some 3,700 players are under investigation.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Much Ado About Nothing: A Modern Verse Translation, tells the timeless and hilarious story o… Read moreMills High School Much Ado About Nothing: A Modern Translation
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.