Explosive claims regarding the investigation shaking Turkish football: 'This is not a betting issue, it is a match-fixing wave'

While developments regarding the illegal betting investigation in Turkish football continue, Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek announced that detention warrants have been issued for 19 club executives serving in professional leagues affiliated with the TFF.

Evaluating the events, Türkiye newspaper columnist Tahir Kum made striking statements on the Taksim Meydanı program broadcast on TGRT Haber. Kum suggested that the investigation into Haluk Levent could also extend to the football community.

HE DREW ATTENTION TO HALUK LEVENT'S BETTING COUPONS

Referring to the coupons that Haluk Levent allegedly used for betting, Kum stated that the high-amount bets were noteworthy.

Kum used the following expressions:

"I was looking at Haluk Levent's betting matters. I think a person who wagers such high amounts of money on matches and makes coupons must definitely have a football background. Or I think they must have a football mind."

Suggesting that the artist might have exchanged ideas with names from the football world, Kum continued as follows:

"I wonder if there are people from the football family from whom he received ideas or with whom he did brainstorming on this subject. It seemed a bit suspicious to me that someone not from the football family would make coupons worth 300 thousand, 400 thousand, or 500 thousand liras."

Speaking about the scope of the investigation conducted into the AHBAP Association, Kum said, "I foresee that this investigation regarding the AHBAP Association could also spill over into the football family."

"THIS IS NOT A BETTING ISSUE, IT IS A MATCH-FIXING WAVE"

Touching upon the investigations conducted into the football world during the program, Kum claimed that there is information regarding some club executives.

"We heard before the World Cup that there were findings regarding some people, including executives of the four major clubs," said Kum, who made the following assessment:

"However, the subject whose names you are reading is not a betting operation. The name of this business is not betting, it is a match-fixing wave."

Kum also argued that there is a legal difference between legal betting and match-fixing under the Turkish Penal Code, and that placing result-oriented bets on one's own matches could constitute a crime.

HE POINTED TO AUGUST: A STORM WILL BREAK BEFORE THE SEASON STARTS

Claiming that the investigation could expand, Kum used the following expressions:

"Today the number of names is 19-20, but it will not stay like this. In the first week of August, before the 2026-27 season begins, a storm will break in Turkey."

Claiming that the Turkish Football Federation has forwarded information regarding presidents and executives who have served in professional leagues in the last 5 years to the Spor Toto Organization Presidency, and that the data obtained has reached the TFF, Kum used the expressions "Here we will not be talking about tens, not hundreds, but thousands."

"THERE MAY ALSO BE FEDERATION OFFICIALS"

At the end of his statements, continuing his claims regarding the scope of the investigation, Kum used the following expressions:

"There are also federation officials involved in this. The Football Federation President and the management... If these exist, they will also be shared with the public."

News Source: 12punto